All Or None
by SSA Haffner
Summary: SSA Dr. Spencer Reid is pretty much the most important person on the team. There wouldn't even be a team without Pretty Boy. That's why they need to take every precaution to preserve his safety when an UNSUB threatens to take that very thing away from them. But when they have to watch as the UNSUB beats, questions, and psychologically damages Pretty Boy, can they find him?
1. Time For A New Case

"Come on, guys." Penelope Garcia said, tapping the desks of Agents Morgan, Prentiss, Reid, and Jareau as she passed. "New case today," she vaguely explained as she headed for the briefing room.

The Agents got up, all heading up the stairs and into said room in a cluster. David Rossi was already there, and so was Hotchner.

"Is it bad?" Morgan asked, biting the inside of his cheek subconsciously.

As Penelope passed out the folders holding the picture of the crime scenes, she shrugged. "That's for you to decide." Then, she turned to the screen.

"Alyssa Richman, 23, worked at a local bar in Jacksonville, Alabama. Kidnapped three weeks ago, then found dead in the middle of a forest trail five days later." Garcia paused to pull of another picture beside it, starting on the next victim. "Melody Patton. She was 21, and she worked at another bar all the way across town. She was kidnapped and found in the same pattern, and was also ditched in the same place."

"Sounds like our UNSUB likes bars." Morgan stated.

"Well, it does serve as a good hunting ground." Reid explained. "People are normally so drunk they won't be able to process that someone is kidnapping them rather than just taking them home. By the time they come out of their stupor they don't even recall what happened or how they got where they are being held."

Garcia nodded, smiling. "Exactly. But, there's still another victim." She pressed the button a third time. "Stephanie Kurt, 22, was just found this recent Friday, still following the schedule. She also worked at the same bar Melody did with almost the same schedule."

"So," J.J. said, looking through her folder, occasionally looking up at the screen, "they get kidnapped on a Monday, kept for five days, then killed and ditched on a hiking trail on a Friday. Pretty tight schedule."

Hotch spoke for the first time since the group had entered the room. "But that still gives him three days to kidnap the next victim."

"Which would be today." Rossi spoke up.

"Well, the first and second victims were redheads, while the second was a brunette. They all had green eyes, though." Reid said, studying the pictures. "Each are all of different ages, and all of them are white."

"All are about the same height, too." Emily said. "They're all about 5'8"."

Hotch nodded. "Okay. Wheels up in 30."

 ** _ON THE PLANE_**

Morgan was one of the first on the plane, second to Hotch. Rossi came next, then the two girls arrived together. Reid was the only one missing.

"Reid's not here?" Emily asked as soon as she had surveyed her surroundings. "I thought he was going with you, Morgan?"

"Nope, I came on my own." Reid said, stepping onto the plane. He had his satchel at his side, and he set it on the couch, claiming it his for the next few hours they'd be on the jet.

"Okay," Hotch said, ignoring the slight uproar behind him. "Garcia, what've you got?"

"Not much sir," Garcia said. "But I have gotten something. Just as you said, they were normally in the same group, but not exactly."

"What do you mean, 'not exactly'?" Rossi asked.

"Well, they were all pretty cocky. They had enough money to get by, and a little extra, but they spent it like their houses were made of gold or something." Garcia explained. "From their phone and email records, they had never met each other, but they were all pretty much similar in personality."

"Can you find out anything else?" Reid asked.

"You bet your sweet cheeks I can." Garcia said. "Over and out."

Her familiar face went of the screen, and they all huddled together to discuss.

"Okay, so when we get there, we're going to go to the local PD station and set up, getting the locations of the dump sites." Hotch said. "Reid, I don't want you leaving the station unless we say so. You're the best one for cracking this kind of case, and we don't need you getting hurt."

Reid sighed quietly, rolling his eyes at Hotch's back. But he complied, knowing that this was only for protection. The last thing he needed was to be distracted from the case.

Hotch had finished explaining their instructions long before the plane had landed, and decided to take another look at the file.

Morgan had already put on his headphones; checking out the file without distraction. Well, from others, anyway. J.J. was quietly talking with Emily about the UNSUB, while Rossi was crashing in a chair in the far corner.

Reid wasn't that surprised at Rossi. Actually, it was kind of normal. He was probably just closing his eyes and thinking through what the UNSUB had been planning to do with- _snore_. Okay, so maybe Reid was wrong. Reid was glad he didn't say it out loud, or else he would have been wrong _in front to people_ , too. That would've just made it worse.

Reid couldn't focus. He was too worried about others than on the case. But, he decided to give it a shot anyway.

The entire trip to Jacksonville was quiet. They weren't put together yet. They needed to land, clear their heads, and set up. Without taking 5 minutes before starting, Reid was sure all their heads would explode with the pressure.

As they later exited the plane, the smell of new, fresh air hitting them, they were escorted to the local PD station immediately.

"Hello, you must be the BAU agents we've been expecting," said a man wearing a police badge. "My name is Deputy Jack Masser."

"Hello, Deputy." Hotch said, shaking hands. "Where would you like us to sat up?"

"In there is fine," he said, pointing over his shoulder to a large room that had glass windows from the floor to ceiling working as walls. For a small town, they certainly put a lot of money into this _one_ building. Odd.

As they all entered the room, Rossi set up the computer so Garcia could come through to them. Reid passed out the files he had been keeping in his bag, and Hotch began putting the picture of the victims on the white board on the one wall that wasn't made of glass. Reid stepped out for a minute, only to return with another white board that was clear, but on rollers. He brought it up to the table, and began to write down scribbles that the rest of the team didn't understand. But, they didn't need to. If Reid understood, that was all that mattered.

"So," said Hotch, turning the computer on. He started a video chat with Garcia. "Found anything yet?"

Garcia smiled. "You know I do."

"Hit us with your best shot, Baby Girl," said Morgan.

Garcia nodded. "I traced down all the girls' old boyfriends, last shopping trips, et cetera, and nada. Zilch. Truth is, they didn't have _boyfriends_ at all."

"These were lesbians. Our UNSUB is hunting lesbians." Morgan said without a change of expression.

"In Christianity, homosexuality is considered very wrong, so if our UNSUB is a Christian, it's most likely they think they're working in the face of God, and are actually doing the right thing." Reid said.

"Garcia, look at local bars and dig through every person's last detail. See if any of them are religious, and find out what schedule they work. They can't possibly work full time. They have to kidnap somebody on a Monday, and after working a full shift, they wouldn't be strong enough." Hotch said. "And while you're doing that, we're going to the dump site."

"Peace," said Garcia, giving the peace sign right before the screen went black.

"Now," Morgan said, standing, "let's go get this son of a bitch."


	2. Why Him?

As they got to the crime scene, the team spread out, searching for any kinds of clues as to who the killer might have been. Three bodies littered the ground, but they didn't seem fazed by this at all. Instead, they just walked around and over top of them, examining the ground and vegetation around the dump site.

"What would you make of this?" Emily asked, holding up a small, neatly folded piece of paper. "It's probably from the UNSUB. They either left it here on purpose, or they accidentally dropped it."

Morgan took the note in his gloved hands, turning it over and over, looking for anything suspicious before opening it. Written in sloppy handwriting on the inside of the letter was something Morgan had hoped he wasn't seeing.

 _You think you can catch me? Good luck. You're gonna need it. And by the way . . . watch your backs. _

Spencer watched over Morgan's shoulder as he read the paper out loud to the rest of the team. As he finished, Spencer was the first to speak.

"Maybe the UNSUB saying 'watch your backs' means that he's going to start aiming for us?" Spencer asked. "Maybe, since they're attacking girls, they're going to start after J.J. and Emily?"

All eyes turned to them. Hotch seemed to think about this.

"I want someone with the girls at all times. I want regular check-ins, and the sooner we catch this UNSUB, the sooner we can get back to Quantico." Hotch said, looking at the girls, who stood side-by-side.

"Okay then." Rossi said, breaking the silence that followed Hotch's declaration. "Let's keep looking before we get back. Who knows what else the UNSUB might have left for us to find."

The entire time they were there, nothing else came up. Right before they were getting ready to leave, something caught Reid's eye.

A small, homely cabin sat deep in the woods. He wouldn't have noticed it, if it weren't for a small shine on one of the tinted windows. He decided that it would only take a moment, and slowly walked through the trees, making his way to the front door.

It really did look like any regular old cabin. Wood walls, ceiling, a dirt driveway all the way back to the place. The door was new, though. It looked like metal, and when Reid reached up to knock, he was sure. He grabbed his cell from his pocket and quickly called Morgan.

"Hey, I'm probably gonna need some help back here, so if you could just-" Spencer caught one last glimpse of his teammate through the thick forest trees before being pulled into the cabin.

"Spencer down. Come on!" Morgan yelled, crashing through the forest towards the cabin. He had just made eyes contact with Spencer before he had been taken. He wasn't sure if he was really in any danger, but if it just so happened to be their UNSUB, he couldn't be too careful.

Hotch had soon caught up with him, Rossi and the girls not far behind. They had reached the cabin fairly quickly, and Morgan tried to bust in the door.

"It's metal." Morgan said. "Go for the windows!"

Soon J.J. had been able to smash through one with her gun, and Hotch helped Morgan climb through, then himself. Rossi would stay guard with the girls, who huffed in disagreement. They could take care of themselves.

As Hotch and Morgan moved quietly through the house, communicating solely through nods of their heads, they mentally prepared themselves before entering the last room. They were surprised to hear their friend's breath and his muffled screams, but they were also surprised when they took a look around.

No UNSUB.

No Spencer.

"Where could he have gone?" Rossi asked when they got back to the station. "And what made this  
UNSUB change his type? Spencer's obviously not a girl, he doesn't have green eyes, and he's not from around here. How would the UNSUB know to get _him_?"

"Maybe he wasn't planning on kidnapping Reid. Maybe Reid was just at the wrong place at the wrong time." Emily suggested.

"We know he was initially planning on the girls, since they would be closer to his type than the rest of us, but maybe he's planning on getting all of us, and not just them." Morgan said.

"But why?" Hotch asked.

"Revenge?" J.J. suggested. "I mean, a lot of families have been broken while we've been around. Maybe they think we're the reason why."

"That's a lot of maybes. We should get some definites on this guy first, before we give a profile." Rossi said.

J.J. walked over to the board Spencer had rolled in when they got there.

"Okay, so our UNSUB originally liked to kidnap, then the girls are killed and ditched." J.J. said. "What was the cause of death?"

"They were all beaten, restrained, and had 13 knife wounds on their arms and legs. Right around where they would have bled to death. The main cause of death was a clean gunshot to the forehead, right in the middle. This guy has great precision, and obviously has something to deal with human anatomy." Emily said, staring at the three pictures of the victims.

"But what if there were more than one person doing all this?" Morgan asked. "What if, since they were all lesbians, a girl lured them in, and the guy did all the heavy work? Maybe he was specialized in a field that has human anatomy in it, but the girl was just for looks."

"Valid assumption," Hotch said, "but we still need the facts to prove it."

"It's still more than what we started with." Rossi said.

Hotch nodded. "I want Rossi and Emily to go to the bar where the second victim worked, and find out all you can. Search through security cameras, talk to the manager, other coworkers, et cetera. Morgan, J.J. and I will go to the second bar, where the other women worked. We'll do the same, and meet you back here with what we found."

With that, they set off, determined to find the UNSUB that had taken their one-and-only Spencer Reid.

Spencer stuggled against the restraints that held him tightly to the wall of the inside of the car, kicking and throwing himself against the leather so hard he had momentarily cut off circulation in his hands. He couldn't see out the windows; they had duct tape over the inside. All he could rely on was brief glimpses of light out the windshield whenever the boxes around him were bounced out of the way.

He tried to get the duck tape off of his mouth, too, but failed. He couldn't lift his arms up to do so, nor could he lean down. This man was smart, but hopefully, Spencer was smarter.

As the car slowed to a stop, Spencer realized that they were now deep into the countryside, and they were a long ways away from the nearest house. Which, with Spencer's luck, was probably empty anyway.

Spencer was roughly taken from the straps, and was blinded by the bright sunlight. _It's probably early afternoon. The team would definitely be looking for me_ , Spencer thought as the man in front of him put a blindfold over Spencer's eyes. Spencer had already seen the man, along with wherever in the world he was now. His eidetic memory was helpful in these kinds of moments.

 _Please, get here on time,_ was the last thing Spencer focused his mind on before something sharp entered his neck.

Then, his mind went blank.


	3. Clues Are Hard To Find

"Here we are," Emily said as Rossi steered the car into the parking lot of the bar. "Let's get this over with. I wanna pummel this UNSUB's head in so hard he-"

"Come on, Prentiss." Rossi said, chuckling. He had already walked around and opened Emily's door. He held out his hand, being a gentleman, to help her out of the car.

Emily scoffed, taking his hand. She got out of the car, Rossi shutting the door behind her. She walked up to the front double-doors and held one open for the other Special Agent. When they entered the bar, the smell of alcohol and old sweat hitting their noses. They soon got used to it, and they made their way to the counter. Holding up their I.D.s, they introduced themselves.

"Hello, my name is Agent Prentiss and this is SSA Agent Rossi. We're from the FBI and we have some things we'd like to ask you and your coworkers if you don't mind." Emily said, taking a seat afterwards.

Rossi sat down beside her as the bartender went to get the manager and his fellow coworkers. As they all gathered, introducing themselves and shaking hands, around the edge of the bar, Emily started up.

"We're Agents from the FBI, and we're here to investigate the kidnapping and murder of your coworker Alyssa Richman. She was found dead in the forest, and there have been a couple others that had the same result. Which is why we need your help to find the UNSUB."

Multiple coworkers just nodded, still shocked that their coworker had been killed.

"So, we're looking for a white male, accompanied by a smaller, also white, female. They would probably come together, but stay a little distance apart. Normally, the girl would act very homosexual towards other women, luring in some that have drank just a little too much. The man would probably be up at the bar, secretly watching, while distracting the bartenders by ordering a lot of drinks he doesn't need." Rossi explained.

"The girl would most likely be around her early to mid twenties, and the male would be a little bit older. Same thing with size. Girl would be small, the man would have to be buff, strong, and very educated on his human anatomy. They would have to have come here regularly in order to be able to find their victims first, then track them down and take them without people noticing." Emily continued for Rossi, finishing their description of the UNSUB. Or rather, what little they had of it.

"I can't remember anyone coming into the bar like that. And if I did, it's pretty regular for a guy and a girl to come here together and end up leaving with someone else." One of the men said. Most of the others nodded their heads along with his explanation, but someone else spoke up.

"I saw someone," a small voice from behind the bunch of men at the front said weakly. "I saw a man and a woman come in about a week ago. They left with this girl . . . I think her name was Alyssa or Amelia or something like that. She was here about a week ago. She worked for another bar across town, but she always said this one had better margaritas." A woman stepped into the front of the crowd, a blush forming on her cheeks as everyone stared at her.

"Tiffany, why don't you go show them on the security cameras? I'm sure we haven't gotten rid of those yet." The guy who looked like the manager suggested. He was nice; almost too nice.

"Thank you for your time," was all Emily had said before slipping into the back after Tiffany. I followed, and the group started to disperse. Some of the customers were getting angry.

"This was the security footage from about a week ago," Tiffany said as she clicked through a small laptop that was settled on a desk in the back.

Emily and Rossi crowded around the screen while Tiffany pointed out the two UNSUBs as they walked in. She showed them as the man came up to the bar, ordering a very large drink while the girl went over to a booth currently occupied by the victim Alyssa Richman. They watched as the girl lured her outside, claiming to go for a smoke. The guys walked out after them, and they never returned afterwards.

They had the perfect views of their UNSUBs.

Hotch, Morgan and J.J. were having the same luck as Agents Prentiss and Rossi.

The manager of the bar they were at had even showed two women being abducted there, too. Only, the girls who were abducted from this spot were roughly the same as Rossi and Emily's. The second that worked here was captured on her break, which she normally spent outside anyways, and the one that worked at the bar across town had been taken while hanging out with a few friends.

J.J. thanked the people for their time, then Morgan started back towards the station. The drove in silence, until Hotch decided to pull out his phone. He tapped on David Rossi, and pressed call.

Rossi answered on the first ring. "I was about to call you."

Hotch chuckled. "Strange."

"What'd you three find out so far on our victims?" Emily cut in before the boys could socialize any longer. Rossi had put them on speaker. Hotch did the same.

"The girl that worked at your bar was taken when hanging out with a few friends and the other one that worked here was taken on her break." J.J. explained.

"Ours was lured outside while she was alone," said Rossi.

"We'll meet you back at the station, right?" Morgan asked, pulling onto the same street as said station. Earning an agreement from the others, they parked right in front.

"What makes you so special?!" the girl yelled, throwing the plate she was holding across the room. "Why are you the most important on the team?!"

"Calm down, Tara. Take it easy." A man said from the back corner of the room.

Spencer watched as the small girl stared at the man, then started to scream again. "Shut up, Jake! You don't know the extent of this! Spencer here is famous! But why? Because he's part of the FBI? Because he passed a stupid test?!"

"No. It's because of other reasons, right Doctor?" Jake asked, directing his attention to Spencer.

"Yes, it is." Spencer said cautiously. "I had to take some tests to get where I am, but because I get the recognition I get, it's because of who I am. I am one of the smartest people on Earth. My I.Q. is 187. That's one of the reasons."

"And what might be the others?" Tara asked, crossing her arms and appearing quite mad.

Spencer rolled his eyes behind his eyelids. "I have an eidetic memory, and I have the ability to tell the police to do anything I want them to. My friends have the same power, and I'd bet that they are on their way now."

Spencer was surprised at how confident he sounded.

Tara stared at him for a moment, before stomping through the door in front of Reid. The man in the corner started towards Spencer, but stopped when Tara returned with a camera. It sat on a tripod, so neither had to hold it.

Jake brought out a laptop he had hidden in a small pocket in the wall. He started typing, and smiled at Tara.

"Say hi to your friends in the FBI, Spencer, because this might be the last chance you get." Tara said, turning to the camera. "We're gonna have some **_fun_**."

"And the risk you are taking by letting them be able to track us down through the computer? Or are you just going to say into the screen that we are out in the country in the southwest area outside of town? That's pretty much what you're doing by filming us, **_Tara_**." Spencer spat the name so venomously, he knew that Garcia was searching on the other side of that screen right now. "And maybe you and your friend Jake could do with a little bit better of a plan before you kidnap a federal agent."

Spencer stared right into the camera, which stayed on as he heard the gunshot.


	4. Clues Are Hard To Find Part 2

As the members of the BAU crowded around Penelope Garcia's multiple computer screens, they were surprised to see a flashing message filling all of the screens. Penelope stared at it a moment, before clicking the okay button. What came up next made them all gasp; including Hotch.

"Say hi to your friends in the FBI, Spencer, because this might be the last chance you get," a female voice said off screen. But she quickly came on. She was pretty average sized and looked pretty normal as well. If only it weren't for the evil glint in her eye, you would've never have known that she was a mass murderer. "We're gonna have some ** _fun_**."

Spencer took an unnoticed glace at the screen before saying, "And the risk you are taking by letting them be able to track us down through the computer? Or are you just going to say into the screen that we are out in the country in the southwest area outside of town? That's pretty much what you're doing by filming us, **_Tara_**." Spencer took a breath before continuing, the anger on Tara's face extremely noticeable. "And maybe you and your friend Jack could do with a little bit better of a plane before you kidnap a federal agent."

The entire team was at first shocked at how mean Spencer had sounded, but none of them were prepared for the gunshot that rang throughout the room next. They were barely able to make out the visual of Spencer, hunched over in his chair, and blood seeping out through the bottom, before the screen went black. As soon as the computers rebooted, Hotch quickly gave orders.

"Spencer obviously saw where he was going," Hotch said quickly. "Garcia, find out about all ranches, farms, and anything else out of town in the southwest direction. Then, crossover that information with anyone with the names of Jake and Tara. Let us know when you have anything."

With that, everyone but Garcia headed out the door, determined to find their Pretty Boy.

Spencer cried out in pain as the bullet went through his left thigh.

"I never knew you to be snippy, Doctor." Tara said, putting extra emphasis on the final word. "Maybe next time you'll be better about how you speak to me."

Spencer at least felt a little bit better. She did say that there would be a 'next time'. But that didn't take away the shooting (pun intended) pain running through his leg.

Tara stalked out of the room, leaving Jake behind to deal with Spencer.

"Next time," mumbled Jake. Spencer sighed. He wasn't getting out of this any time soon.

"I'll make you a deal." Jack whispered as they heard a door open and slam shut. "I'll let you talk into the camera, as long as you tell them that I am the one trying to get you out of here, and that I'm also being held against my will. She won't let me go." Jack explained.

Spencer could tell by the way Jack said it that he was telling the truth. "I'm going to need this place's address."

"1482 Wi-"

Jake was cut off by a door slamming again, and not a second later, Tara came bursting into the room. The look of fury on her face was shooting bullets already.

"How **_dare_** you?!" Tara screamed. "I told you not to socialize with the hostage! You break one more rule of mine and you will be the one tied to a chair!" With that, she brought out another camera, setting it just so that it could see the entire room. She didn't turn it on, though, which puzzled Reid.

"How about we play a game?" Tara asked, her entire demeanor changing within seconds. "I ask you a question, and if you don't answer . . ." Tara grabbed a wooden baseball bat from the other room, holstering the gun. "and if I am satisfied with your answer, I might let you ask me a few as well."

"Are you going to do this on camera?" Jake asked from the back. Spencer forgot that he had even been there.

Tara thought for a moment before a grin stretched across her face. "You know what? I think I will. But, Jake gets to hold the camera." Tara said. "I'm gonna be too busy to do that."

Spencer didn't want to know what she meant.

Jake held the camera in place, even if it didn't take much, since it was still sitting on the tripod. But he didn't argue. He stood behind it, his hands barely resting on the camera. Tara looked at him, thought for a moment, then stood. She pulled the curtains on the small windows around Reid, and pulled the door shut. Then, she sat back down, and nodded.

Jake seemed to know what she meant, because then, he turned the video camera back on.

The entire team was back at the station.

"Where the hell could they have gone?!" Morgan yelled, banging his fist on the wall. They all crowded around Garcia's computers, awaiting any information. But no matter how many different trails they tried to take, they still ended up with nothing. They couldn't find hidden drives on the road, nor could Garcia track down anyone related to Tara and Jake that owned property in the southwest outside of town.

"Calm down, Morgan." Hotch said, very close to panicking himself, though he did not show it.

" _Calm down_?! One of our teammates has been kidnapped, abused, with his clock counting down towards the minute they kill him, and you want me to **_CALM. DOWN_**?!" Morgan just stopped, letting that sink in, before stepping outside of the door, leaving the rest of the team in shock.

Garcia kept tracking through file after file, her fingers moving at a lightning fast pace, but she kept coming up empty. She finally threw her hands up in the air, and started to rub her fingers together. They were starting to ache from the continuous strain from typing so fast for such an extended period of time.

A familiar pop-up came onto her screen, and she only hesitated to yell for her chocolate thunder, before clicking okay. They were almost prepared for what was about to come on the screen, but at first it was black. Morgan stepped into the semi-circle that surrounded Garcia's computers, waiting for the black to fade.

They all couldn't help but gasp, or at least have a sharp intake of breath, when they saw Spencer again. He had been shot in the thigh, and they could only sit there and watch. Tara was sitting on-screen, and Reid was in the middle. Jake was nowhere to be found, but as the camera moved just a little, they realized that he was behind it.

"To everybody who has access to watch this video," said Tara, turning to the camera, "we were just about to begin our game. This one is my personal favorite. I ask your precious Spencer a question, and if I like his answer, I let him ask me one. If I am comfortable answering, I will. But, you might not know if I am lying or not." Tara grinned evilly, but quickly turned back to her old self as she turned to Spencer.

"Why do you think we took you?" Tara asked.

"Because . . . I was an easy target?" Spencer partially believed that he was the easiest to harm out of all of them, since he only had a gun to protect him. He had no muscle on him to help when that defense was stripped from him. "My team knows that I am the weakest link." Now that was a lie. Or at least, Spencer hoped it was.

On the other side of the screen, an uproar started.

"Does he really think that?" Garcia asked, turning to Hotch, who just stared that the screen, dumbfounded. Morgan started banging on the walls again, and Rossi sighed, looking at his feet. He blamed himself, and the girls did too. Everyone did.

"That is true," said Tara, turning to the screen. "Don't you agree?"

Her attitude was starting to make Morgan mad enough to punch _through_ the wall.

Tara chuckled. "Your turn."

Reid thought for a moment. He needed to ask something she wouldn't think would be important, but would be vital to the others finding him. "Are you and Jake siblings?"

Tara shook her head. "Cousins. We have always been as close as siblings, though."

Reid looked at the screen, trying to mentally communicate that she was telling the truth.

On one of Garcia's computers that wasn't covered by the video camera's stream, she searched up people named Tara with cousins named Jake. She came up with three pairs.

"Why do you think your team will come find you?" Tara asked.

Reid thought this over for a moment. He was expendable at any moment. They had absolutely no leads, as far as Reid knew. And he wasn't that important anyway.

"I don't."

Tara smiled, turning to the camera. "You see? He's finally faced the truth. If you can't find him now, you'll only find his body after we're done."

Everyone's hearts dropped.

Reid looked into the camera. The team could see what this was doing to him. The bags under his eyes, the blood around his torso and on his hands, the franticness in his eyes. She was right, but if she didn't kill him, he'd die of an anxiety attack first.

Garcia interrupted. "I got something."

"Tell us!" Emily said, resting her hands on Garcia's shoulders, reading the screen.

"Tara Cartez and Jake Marron. They were cousins through their fathers, and someone killed both sets of parents when they stayed together one weekend and someone broke in. They were put in foster care, luckily staying together throughout the years. Tara was affected more than Jake, but she only started acting out these past couple years. Jake's always been quiet. They are registered in an apartment in town, but I doubt they'll be there."

"Anything that points us to where they are keeping Reid?" Hotch asked.

J.J. stared at the screen in front of her, analyzing every detail. Tara wasn't moving, or talking. It looked like she was thinking, but she wasn't really focusing on Tara. She looked around at the walls and the old-fashioned curtains.

"Garcia, look for any run-down buildings in the southwest area outside of town." J.J. said. "Don't use anything related to Tara or Jake, just buildings that have been abandoned."

"Well, it looks like Reid doesn't want to ask me any more questions . . ." Tara said, pretending to look bummed.

"No! I'm thinking . . ." Reid said, racking through his brain. He decided to take a risk. "Why haven't you killed me yet?"

Tara thought this over. "I don't know. I guess having you captive has been . . . exhilarating. A federal agent sitting right next to us. But, I guess, if you want it go a little quicker . . ." Tara grabbed the bat and quickly took a hard swing to Spencer's left arm. He couldn't even brace himself for it, and he was more shocked than in pain. But when Tara aimed for his thigh, right on the bullet wound, Spencer cried out so loud he felt dizzy. But Tara wasn't done yet. She kept hitting him, in the stomach, on each arm, each leg, even a couple to the head. When she stopped, Spencer hung his head, ashamed to look up.

"Look up," ordered Tara. Jake was holding her back, and she realized what she had done.

Spencer slowly lifted his head. His nose was bloodied, along with a scrape along his forehead, which caused blood to slowly drip down the right side of his face. He was starting to lose feeling in his leg, and he couldn't move it. But then again, even if he could, he was still tied to the chair. His lip was also starting to bleed. He must've bitten it a little too hard when he was being hit.

"What do you want to tell your federal agents now?" Tara asked, redness growing on her face.

"I want to say . . . thank you." Spencer decided through staggered breath. "To Hotch, for being the best leader a team could ask for, and the best man for the job of being a father. Jack is really lucky. Haley would be proud of you. To Morgan, who watched over me in every case, and even outside of work. To J.J., who wouldn't judge you for what you look like or how you speak. She was possibly even the best mother for the job. Tell Henry Uncle Spencer won't be able to come over anymore. And Jack, too, please. And to Rossi, for being the biggest role model I've had since I read your work. And to Emily, who was always wanting to protect us, even if it meant putting her life on the line instead. And least, but not least, Garcia, who has made the entire team smile in even the gravest of times. This team wouldn't be a team without all of you."

"Which is why they will still be a team after you're gone," said Tara, as she brought a knife out of her pocket. She kept stepping closer to the boy, until she was close enough to touch him. But, instead of harming him, she cut the ropes bounding him to the uncomfortable chair.

"Stand up."

Reid did as told, putting all of his weight on the leg that wasn't shot, and he brought his hand up to his head. He brought back more blood, and instead of showing any emotion, he simply wiped his hands on his pants.

Tara threw the chair across the room. She motioned for Jake to come on-screen, and soon after he did, she handed him her gun. "I don't need this," was all she said.

Jake watched as Tara threw the first punch. Reid hit the floor so hard he was sure he felt his brain rattle. Tara kicked him, once, twice, three times, before letting him cower in pain. The team could only watch as Jake held up the gun. He was shaking; the team saw.

 ** _BANG_**! The team all turned away from the screen, but when they turned back, they only saw Reid lying on the ground, motionless.


	5. Deceived

Spencer slowly opened his eyes. He racked his brain, making sure it still worked. Tara was right above him, glaring at the wall, and he'd hate to be the one to get the brunt of her anger. He wasn't hit, but his body had reacted like it had been, causing him to momentarily black out. Tara, on the other hand, was standing still, with the occasional exhale of breath. Without warning, she closed her eyes, and turned around. Jake was standing there, the gun being held limply in his hand, the fear in his eyes evident.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Tara said, her voice slowly rising with every word. "Why are you even standing there?" Tara looked down. Blood was slowly falling from her fingertips, and she followed the trail upwards. A small hole was punctured through her sleeve near her shoulder, and the soft fabric was slowly turning red. She cursed multiple times under her breath, and opened a small cabinet in the corner. She pulled out some bandages and a bottle of alcohol to clean the wound. She also grabbed a needle and thread, and looked at Jake. "Help me get back to the house." She waddled out, and Jake stalled for a moment. When the door slammed shut again, Jake ran up to Reid.

"We're at 1482 Withering Drive, the camera's still on. Remember: I'm being held against my will. I really hope I can stall long enough so she can bleed to death." With that, he left, and Spencer moved up to the camera quietly, as to not cause any suspicion from outside.

"If any of you guys are watching, I am at 1482 Withering Drive. Tara was shot in the arm, and Jake isn't that willing to help. He's helped me so I haven't been killed yet, and he shot Tara before she could hurt me. Make his punishment less severe than Tara's please. And, bring your guns. I'm in a shed, and I gotta go." Spencer felt himself start to feel dizzy. He sat down, but continued explaining. "I'm sorry, too. If I would've asked for help, I wouldn't even be in this mess right now . . ." Spencer looked at the ground, refusing to cry. "And now you have to come save me. Well, I don't suppose you _**have**_ to. You can leave me, I'd understand. You have other, more important, people to save than me. So, I guess it's up to you, then." Spencer lie back on the floor, resting his head on the ground.

Before he could even sit up, Tara swung open the door again, her shoulder covered in bandages, and her shirt sleeve cut off. She stomped over to Spencer, picking him up with one hand, then leading him out of the room.

On the other side of the camera screen, Penelope was the only person left to watch as Spencer left a bloody trail out the door. The rest were on their way.

Hotch put the phone on speaker. "Morgan and Prentiss, go through the front of the house, Rossi through the back. J.J. and I will go to the shed. Be ready at all times, this girl is armed. The boy is not a threat, but do not forget about him. Bring him out, and we'll get Reid and Tara."

"Gotcha Hotch." Morgan said, hanging up.

As they all pulled onto the street that their fellow agent was being held at, their hearts could not be controlled. They beat so hard and fast in each of their chests, they felt as though they were about to burst. But, they kept their focus, even with the police sirens in the background growing closer. They soon parked so they were blocking the driveway, and brought out their guns before even stepping out of the car.

Taking in their surroundings within seconds, they stepped out of the car.

Morgan and Prentiss were able to get inside the house pretty easily, since the front door wasn't even locked. Rossi went in the back, seeing no one until they all got upstairs. In one of the bedrooms, they saw Jake, tied to a chair and gagged. They quickly went to untie him, then put him in handcuffs. They led him down to the just arriving police cars, and they told the local police to stay put. Then, they went to find their leader and his assistant.

Hotch and J.J. weren't exactly in the easiest of situations. They were slowly searching the shed, which ended up having multiple hiding places and rooms to look through. They had recognized the trail of blood earlier, but didn't speak of it. They need to have hope. They need to believe that Spencer was still alive.

The two exited the shed, keeping their guns up and loaded. They made their way back to the cars, and updated everyone. They looked for anything that was out of place, until Jake spoke up.

"The car," he rasped, "she took him in the car. I think I know where she's going."

"Where?" Hotch demanded, hopping into the car, while a cop placed Jake in the backseat. Rossi sat in the back to make sure that Jake wasn't going to try anything, and J.J. got in the passenger seat. Morgan and Prentiss got into the second car, using their phone as the connecting piece between the two once again.

"She loved to go down to this abandoned barn about an hour from here, just like this one, but it's not near any houses. We hung out there when we were little, and she's always went there ever since." Jake explained as quickly as he could. "It's straight down this road, and I'll tell you when you need to turn right."

Hotch stared at him.

"You have to trust me," pleaded Jake, "did Spencer tell you? I want this girl gone as much as you. She went crazy a couple years ago and I haven't been able to escape from her since!"

Hotch let this statement sink in for a moment, looking at Rossi. He nodded.

Hotch floored it.

"Where are they going?!" Emily screamed as Morgan floored it as well.

"I don't know, but they've got the insider, so we'd better trust that why know what they're doing!" Morgan yelled over the roar of the engine.

Emily nodded, letting Morgan focus on speeding down the highway after their team. One of their friends were at stake, and they weren't about to lose him by doing something stupid.

Because they were almost 50 mph over the speed limit, and because the engine was so loud, Jake had to scream at Hotch to turn right, and then left. He couldn't keep giving him directions like this, and the agents knew it. But, luckily, they eventually saw the small grey car speeding down the highway towards an abandoned barn.

The car almost slowed to a stop, but it quickly sped back up when they pulled into the same street.

"Dammit!" Tara said, grabbing a knife out of her belt. "I knew Jake would've told them where we were going!"

Spencer was currently trying to get out of his binds, which held his hands to the handle above him. He pulled his hands down, but to no avail. He tried using all of his body weight, pushing with his feet against the door, but each with the same outcome. He yelled in frustration, taking his anger out on the door. Without warning, it gave way.

The door swung open, breaking off in the process. Spencer was now glad that the binds were tight enough to hold his entire body weight, because he would've fallen out if it was any looser. He looked back as his team chasing them, and the cop cars that had just surrounded the road up ahead. They were going to catch Tara, and before she got the chance to kill him. He had to keep his head, though. If Tara saw any kind of emotion other than hate and sadness and depression, she'd probably shoot him in the head, just so it would hurt the BAU.

But wait . . . didn't she leave her gun with Jake? And didn't he leave it in the shed? Spencer was so focused on these questions, that he realized a little too late that he was starting to fall out of the car again. He tried to grab on again, but this time, his legs slipped. He felt his binds loose their grip, too, so he wrapped his hands around the bar as well. He brace himself for a wild driving maneuver Tara performed, getting them past the wall of police. Spencer didn't know how, but she did.

He sighed. Hope wasn't exactly the first thing he was feeling now, especially when the BAU team had to slow down to get around the police. But, as Tara focused on the road ahead of her, the BAU turned off their sirens, following as quietly as possible. Tara returned to normal speed, which allowed the BAU to catch up in no time. Tara only noticed when Hotch pulled up parallel to her, having J.J. stick her head out the window.

"Tara!" J.J. screamed over the roaring of the engines. "We need you to pull over!"

"And let you take me out to jail? Never!" Tara said, before realizing that this road had been blocked by even more cop cars, too. She was going to do the same thing as last time, but that was before they started to shoot. Spencer felt one knick the back of his head as they got closer, then ducked just in time as they aimed for his head. Tara rolled up her window, but not before making a sharp right turn, letting one of the bullets sink itself into Reid's side. The pain was unbearable, and he found himself dipping in and out of consciousness within seconds.

"Reid!" J.J. screamed, watching as the youngest member of the BAU's head dropped back, blood splattering over the seat and the side of the car. Tara glanced back, noticing her bait was beginning to diminish. She slammed on the gas pedal so hard it almost broke. She tried to drive through a corn field, but before she even got thirty feet in, her tires got stuck. She hopped out, seeing the BAU's cars coming to a stop all around her. She could see that the cars had made a circle around her, and she jumped back in the car. She grabbed a gun, turned off the safety beforehand, and untied Reid. She sat him on the ground outside, holding the gun to his head, since he had just came back into consciousness.

"Tara," said Morgan, almost warningly. "I know you're mad, but there's no reason to kill an innocent person, Tara." Morgan was trying to reason with her, but she didn't fall for it.

"Come any closer, and I'll shoot!" Tara screamed.

"Come on, Tara." J.J. reasoned. "Jake wouldn't want this."

"He doesn't mean anything to me anymore! He shot me!" Tara screamed, tears forming.

"He was aiming for me," Spencer choked, blood flowing out of his mouth. His shirt was ripped, and it was soaked in blood at well. "He didn't mean to hit you. He told me that he would do anything for you," lied Reid.

Tara's grip on the gun wavered. "He . . . he did?"

Spencer nodded. "He wouldn't want you to do this."

"Where is he?" Tara asked Hotch. He kept his emotionless face straight for a moment, thinking of the best way to go about this.

"I'm sorry Tara," Hotch said, but was interrupted by the girl.

"WHERE IS MY COUSIN?!" She screamed, pushing the gun even harder to Spencer's head.

Everyone caught on to Hotch's plan almost immediately, but it was Morgan who spoke next.

"Tara, when we got there, the sock you put in his mouth was lodged too far back into his throat, and the duct tape on his mouth was refusing him any air . . ." Morgan let that sink in before taking a slow step towards Tara.

"No . . ." she whispered. "It's your fault." She hissed at Spencer. "You made me kill him!" She said, louder this time. "I should pull this trigger right here and now! You killed my best friend, and you deserve to die!"

Spencer looked at Hotch, Rossi, then Morgan, who were taking slow steps towards them as Tara was having her rampage. He knew she could kill him; he was already dying from loss of blood. As she had to do was stall, and he'd be dead.

"Tara," said girl snapped her head up to the new voice, "we're only here to help." Rossi lied. "We want him to ourselves so we can put him in the most torturous place on Earth, so he will live the rest of his life on the edge of death, remembering what all he made you do."

"You'd really do that?" Tara asked, moving the gun from Spencer's head to his neck. "He'd pay for what he's caused?"

"Exactly." Rossi said. "We don't like him any more than you do. Possibly even less."

"Then why don't I just finish him off now?" Tara asked, an evil smirk playing across her face. Her finger started to pull on the trigger, and Rossi held up his hands.

"Now, we wouldn't want to do that, would we?" Rossi asked. "If you finish him off now, he won't have to spend the rest of his life being reminded of what he has caused and done not only to you, but to everyone else he's killed."

Spencer's head suddenly drooped lower, his eyes struggling to stay open. He was more tired than in pain. He needed to sleep, not stay awake. He was clinging to this thread of light, but he was really just wanting to let go.

Tara thought this over, and finally sighed. She bent down to Spencer's ear. "Have fun in the future for me. I'm sure all of this will be worth it, won't it? I mean, nothing could be worse than living with the fact that you are and always will be a _**killer**_ , right?" Spencer visibly flinched as she spat the word, and the entire team noticed. Tara reluctantly tossed the gun to the ground. She stepped away from Spencer, too, towards Rossi.

"Thanks. I won't be able to torture him myself, but I trust that you all will do a good job."

With that, the cops handcuffed her and threw her into the cop car. Jake was led into the cop car parked right in front of her, catching her eye. She finally realized what she had been tricked into doing, and started kicking and thrashing every which way she could manage.


	6. Answers

Morgan paced around the hospital waiting room, silently cursing under his breath every time the hands on the clock on the wall moved. It was just another second, another hour, that Spencer wasn't back yet. They had wheeled him into surgery immediately, refusing the agents the right to see him beforehand. Now, all that was left for the team to do was wait.

Rossi repeatedly walked up to the counter, asking over and over on the condition of his teammate, while Hotch stared at the floor while sitting in the farthest chair. J.J. and Emily sat side-by-side, but didn't speak. No one did. Not even Garcia, who was known for making people smile on a daily basis.

They all passed time, by sleeping or pacing or even by crying, they waited. J.J. pulled herself together. She was the only one who didn't let herself cry. Even if Hotch had quickly wiped his eyes, she still counted it. She stood.

"Anyone want some coffee? Something to eat?" She asked, though it came out as a whisper. But since it really was so quiet in the room that they sat in, they still heard her.

Garcia stood, nodding silently. Hotch stood, glancing at Rossi, who was stopped pacing long enough to think. Then, he nodded too. Emily sighed, pressing her lips together. Morgan was conked out in one of the chairs, and not even Hotch could wake him up.

They made their way downstairs, paying for their snacks and drinks. They came back to the waiting room, and Morgan woke to the sound of footsteps.

"No food for me?" Morgan tried to joke, but no smile appeared on his lips. Garcia handed him a hot dog and a cup of Mtn. Dew, smiling slightly. They all sat down.

After everyone was done eating, they were all almost asleep when the doctor came out.

"Spencer Reid?" He asked, and J.J. immediately shot up out of her chair, waking Emily beside her. Morgan, Rossi, and Hotch got up slowly, as if they moved too fast, it would all come crashing down above them. Emily and Penelope stood too, and the doctor continued.

"I can only allow two people at a time to go, since he is in critical condition. We have him stabilized, but he could fall into a coma at any time." The doctor explained, a sympathetic look on his face.

The team thought this over, but J.J. spoke first.

"I want to go last. I don't think I could handle seeing him right now."

Morgan wrapped an arm around her, and Emily nodded too. "Us two will go last. Let the men have their time."

Penelope grabbed Morgan's arm. "He's my exit buddy."

Rossi nodded. "Me and Hotch will go first, then."

The doctor nodded, leading them out of the waiting room, and out of sight.

J.J. had to sit down, while Emily just stood. They had their own ways of coping. Emily would just stare into space, while J.J. shut down completely. Sometimes they would cry, but in both of their minds, crying was a sign of weakness. And right now, Spencer needed anything _other_ than weakness.

Morgan was consoling Garcia, but wasn't crying, either. It seemed like she was just . . . asleep with her eyes open. She wasn't speaking, nor moving. She just sat there, a lot like Prentiss, who was doing the same thing.

They had lost all recollection of time, and it felt like forever until Hotch and Rossi came back with the doctor.

Penelope and Derek stood, following the doctor back out. Emilya and J.J. watched as they walked out as well. Rossi and Hotch kept their faces fixed on the wall in front of them, and the girls were fine with that. They didn't want to know what was going on with him either.

They all sat in silence, sipping the rest of their coffee, until the doctor came back 10 minutes later, escorting the other two out quickly.

"What happened?" J.J. asked, noticing the tears coming from Morgan. If he was crying, something was **_really_** wrong.

Morgan plumped down in the chair, Penelope not even bothering to comfort him. She just stared at the floor, not answering the questions. Emily was comforting Morgan, while J.J. tried to coax an answer out of either of them.

But before she could get an answer, they wheeled it right past.

"He's loosing it! Get him to the OR now!" The doctor yelled from the other side of the door, just as they wheeled a gurney out of the patients' hallway.

J.J. covered her mouth, holding back a sob as she saw Spencer. All of the lines, wires, and tubes were just too much. She tried to sit down, but her body wouldn't allow it. She couldn't move, and her head was starting to hurt. A lot. She knew it was probably just a stress headache, and she finally felt like she was sitting down.

 ** _(I'm going to do P.O.V.'s for a few chapters so it's easier to update)_**

 **Emily's P.O.V.**

I didn't know what was happening. First, they wheeled Spencer out into the lobby, instead of around the back hallways, then, J.J. practically cried when she saw him. And lastly, J.J. **_fainted_**.

I didn't know what to do in this kind of situation! Well, scratch that. I know what to do, but my body isn't cooperating with me. I can only stand there and watch. I want to help, but I can't.

Hotch and Rossi quickly moved to help, me barely stepping out of the way in time. Penelope covered her mouth, and Derek caught her before she hit the ground.

I finally found the strength to speak, so I decided to go get a doctor. Luckily, Spencer's was standing at the front desk, so I politely interrupted.

"Doctor! My friend just passed out and we need some help!" I said, getting his attention. He almost immediately noticed her, only now she was shaking.

"Nurse! We need a gurney in the waiting room and a room. She's convulsing and we need to get her a CAT scan stat!" He yelled, dropping to his knees beside J.J.

The doctor was working with us to help stop her from shaking. Hotch and Rossi each had a leg, Penelope and I had her arms, Derek had her torso, and the doctor had her head. She was still moving, and it wasn't until the nurse came with a needle and gave it to J.J. that she finally calmed down.

The doctor and nurses were able to get her onto a gurney, and placed her in a room. They pumped her full of pain medicine, and then took her for a CAT scan. We weren't allowed to see her the entire time.

We all crowded around her room as she was pulled out on the bed. She was so pale, you could barely tell the difference of skin to paper.

I took a shaky breath, trying not to break down. I would never cry in front of my teammates. Crying shows weakness, and it's a sign of giving up. I'm not giving up. Two of my best friends are now hospitalized, and they need all the strength they can get.

Spencer's P.O.V.

 _I couldn't see. There was a white haze all around me. Maybe this was a dream? No. All my friends are here. We're just sitting at a table, trying to eat Chinese food. I can't use chopsticks. I laugh at myself, until I realize; I'm watching myself. These are memories. Why am I remembering this?_

 _Before I could even answer myself, the memory vanished, leaving me behind to watch the next one. It was of a play date between Jack and Henry. The adults were in the other room, while I was too busy keeping the boys company. They both played well together; I was just being paranoid._

 _Then, another memory came to surface. Only, this one wasn't a happy one. This was all the pain and suffering wrapped up into one. From Tobias Hankel, and all of the torture he had provided me, from the times I cried myself to sleep, only to have my dreams turned to nightmares, from the times I had been beaten back in school, and the times I had been shot, scraped, burned, bruised, beaten, scolded, and heartbroken. Then, it stopped. Only to have one figure stand in front of me._

 _Maeve._

 _I tried to call her name, but her expression was unreadable, even for a profiler such as myself. I screamed, thrashed, kicked, punched, and eventually cried. When I pulled myself together, she started to say something._

 _Only, I couldn't hear her. It was like all senses had been stripped away from me, and all I could do, was sit there in darkness, quietness, and silence, waiting for my life to end._

 _Until I woke up._


	7. So Cold

**Morgan's P.O.V.**

As I watched J.J. being wheeled off to get a CAT scan, I sighed. What was going to happen next? A bomb go off in the middle of the hospital so all the BAU members would be killed, leaving Jack an orphan and Henry without his mom? Yeah. That would just so happen to be the worst outcome. Best outcome; we all get to leave here within the hour, with no long-lasting injuries or scars.

But that probably won't be happening.

Also, we haven't gotten word from anybody on the condition of our Pretty Boy, either. God, please let him be okay. I don't know what I'd do if- _ **NO**_. Do **_NOT_** think like that. He **_will_** be okay. He has never given up before, and nothing's holding him back now. He'll get better.

As I chanted this to myself, I didn't notice a different doctor walking up to us until she spoke.

"Are all of you here for Spencer Reid?" she asked, looking around at their tired faces. Her blue eyes indicated that she was just as tired as the rest of us. And her way-too-curly brown hair didn't help.

I nodded. "How is he?"

She sighed. "Not very good. He survived the surgery to help with the gunshot wound to his thigh, but he also gained some infection before then. We have given him the greatest amount of antibiotics we are allowed to, but even that's not helping. It has already spread, and we aren't sure if he'll ever fully recover."

You could practically hear our hearts hit the floor.

"But, even if the chance of that is great, there is still the small chance of his doing so. You may see him, but you may only go in two at a time, if you would like. I might allow three, since there are an odd number of you." The doctor finished, waiting for us to discuss.

I turned to Emily. "You haven't seen him yet. You should go first."

She nodded, not meeting any of our gazes. She looked at the doctor, waiting for her to take her to her friend.

"Anyone else like to come? I'm sure if he wakes up, he'd rather see some familiar faces than the face of a worn-out doctor," she said. "And I'm sure the anesthesia will be wearing off pretty soon now."

Hotch and Rossi shared a look. I looked at Prentiss, then at Garcia. I had forgotten that she hadn't been back either.

"Penelope should go," I piped up, pushing her gently towards Emily. "She hasn't been back either."

Hotch and Rossi nodded, agreeing with me.

"Us three will go in next, if that's okay with you?" Rossi asked, his Italian accent showing just a _tiny_ bit.

The doctor nodded, and then she turned to the girls, leading them down the hallway and out of sight.

 **Garcia's P.O.V.**

As we walked down the hallway, we eventually ended up out of sight of the boys. I tried to remember the directions we took to get to Reid's room, but gave up after the 6th turn down a large hallway. _Damn, this hospital is huge,_ I thought. We had arrived at my little G-man's room, but my hopefulness had all but stayed. I looked at Emily, and I could tell that she wasn't prepared to see what was on the other side of that door either. But, we stepped through anyways.

Spencer was lying motionless on the bed, and his skin was so pale you would probably think it was paper if you took a picture and cut out his eyes, nose, mouth, cute little freckles, his adorable mess of hair, the collar of the hospital gown- _stop it, Garcia! You have to focus! This boy needs your enthusiasm, happiness, and another large quantity of stuffed animals, stat!_ I thought to myself, mentally slapping myself for getting so caught up in his looks, rather than trying to figure out if he'll ever be okay.

Emily stood at his bedside, staring at his face, studying it. I couldn't tell what she was thinking, but I didn't have to. Her face said it all. Sorrow. Hope. Pity. Curiosity. All in one. I'm not telepathic or anything (but **_man_** would that be cool!), but she showed the signs of all those in one.

The doctor had left without a word before we had even stepped into the room, so it was just us for however long we wanted to stay in there. But, I wasn't sure if we'd be able to last that long ourselves.

"I remember . . ." Emily started, a small smile spreading across her face. "I remember Spencer's face when he had made that bottle rocket work successfully the first time. It was like . . . taking a kid to the mall and saying that they could buy whatever they wanted."

I laughed. "But, he would probably prefer a bookstore."

"I would."

I had a mini heart attack, and Emily visibly jumped back a few inches. Did Reid just . . .

"Yes," he said, sitting up a little bit. "I'm awake."

Emily and I both made a beeline to hug him.

He laughed, but winced when Emily accidentally touched his thigh, which was wrapped with multiple layers of bandages. I glanced at Emily, she obviously started to feel worse, since she was the reason Spencer was in more pain. I patted her shoulder, and she relaxed. Spencer looked at both of us, then out the door, as if he was looking for someone.

"I . . . Where . . . How's J.J. doing?" Spencer asked, curiously glancing out the door.

"How do you know about J.J.?" Emily asked.

Spencer seemed confused. "I watched. I was standing there when she seized." He glanced at us again. "You . . . didn't see me?"

I shook my head. "No, little man. You were in surgery when . . ." I gasped, looking at Emily. I knew what this was. "You were dead! You didn't realize it, and that's why we couldn't see you!" My smile wiped off my face as fast as it came on. "But that means . . . you really _were_ that close to dying . . ." I sobbed.

Reid looked at the white sheets spread across the bed.

"I guess I was."

 **Spencer's P.O.V.**

I couldn't believe it. The theory that someone never really realizes they're dead at first; that there is no heaven or hell, just that we live in a different dimension; living there-even if we aren't still living; had just been proved. Well, to me at least, since I actually experienced it. I'm sure there are others out there who believe it, too. Although I have no desire to talk to them and/or share my experience with complete strangers.

I kept staring at the end of the bed, my senses becoming muffled. I was beginning to get tunnel vision, and my body was starting to grow numb. I could barely make out the sound of voices, and I couldn't smell the sterilization bay that was just down the hallway anymore. My throat was dry, preventing me from speaking.

I barely felt the prick of a needle entering my elbow, but afterwards, everything had faded away again. I felt fine, and was still sitting up. I looked over to find out what had happened, but Penelope and Emily were gone. Only a couple nurses remained, bustling around, and I swung my legs over the edge, hoping for one of them to actually look my in the eye. No such luck.

I jumped out of the bed, and noticed that I no longer had any needles inserted into me. I walked out of the room, and all the way down the hallway without anyone even looking at me. No one talked to me, telling me to get back to my room, or even touched me. I found this odd, then I realized something. Maybe they just had so much work to do, leaving me nearer to the bottom of their priorities list? Yeah, that's probably it.

I'll just go to the team! They'll explain to me that everything's fine, that I'm just being paranoid yet again. Then, we can leave here and go home. I walked to the doors that separated the waiting rooms from the hallways of patients. I took a deep breath, ready to go home. Then, I opened the doors.

First I noticed something odd. Instead of people happy that I was up and about, I found my team, each huddled together, crying. Even Hotch was biting his lip to keep from sobbing. _Oh no_ , I thought. _J.J._

"What happened?" I ask, earning no response. I ask again, and again, still no answer. I start screaming, and just when I was about to grab a coffee cup to throw at them, I watched my hand go right through the cup.

I felt myself break into a cold sweat. What is happening? Is this some kind of sick joke? If so I-Wait a second.

Garcia and Morgan were still sobbing, Hotch and Rossi sitting together without speaking or judging each other for crying. Emily was nowhere to be found. Neither was J.J. I kneeled in front of Garcia, looking at her cry. I couldn't take it.

"Hey, Penelope. It's me, your Junior G-man! I'm right here! Can't you see? I'm fine!" I tried to plead with her, but she soon just stood up, walking right through me.

I fell back, the pain of being walked through almost unbearable. I lay my head back on the floor, listening to the sobs of my coworkers, while one thought echoed throughout my head.

 **I'm dead.**


	8. Otherworldly Connections

**Hotch's P.O.V.**

I couldn't believe it. Reid was crashing. They wouldn't let the rest of us back, while Emily and Penelope had to stand there and watch Reid fall into a coma. They couldn't find out what was wrong, but they were trying. They had asked for permission to run all kinds of tests, afterwards running off to report to the other nurses. It all seemed like a dream; like it couldn't possibly be real.

I had to keep my cool. If I abandoned all hope, or showed any kind of emotion, I'd be letting myself show weakness. And Reid doesn't need weakness. He needs all the strength he can get. I have to keep reminding myself of that.

I saw the doctor come out, and there was sweat covering his forehead. We all stood, afraid of what he might say. He silently nodded for us to follow him down the hallway, and into a medium-sized room with chairs lining the walls in the room. Each of us sat down on both sides of the doctor, waiting for him to speak.

He sighed. "I'm sorry." He paused. "Spencer Reid has fallen into a coma, and we have him stabilized, but we're not so sure if when he wakes up, **if** he wakes up, if he'll even be functional. Being out for this long . . . he could have some lifelong injuries to his brain. All we can do is wait." He walked to the door, but before he stepped out, he turned once again. "I really am sorry." Then, he left.

I looked around to see how my team was reacting, because, truth be told, I didn't know how to react. Morgan and Garcia were staring blankly at the floor, probably unable to cry any more, since they had been crying ever since the girls had been escorted back out to the waiting room. Rossi was sighing in himself, although I was the only one who could hear him. Emily was sitting beside me, and without thinking, I rest my arm over he shoulders.

My eyes widened, realizing what I just did. I was practically screaming that I had a crush on her. Rossi looked up at me, smirking. He knew; I had accidentally told him when we were talking about all of his ex-wives. This only made me blush. I looked back at Emily, and she wasn't crying anymore. She rested her head on my chest, and Morgan pointed us out to Garcia.

"See, Hotch? A small gesture can go a long way!" Morgan said, making Emily chuckle. She looked up to see my response.

"I've got a gesture for you," I said, making a not-so-nice hand gesture towards him, crossing my eyes at the same time. This caused us all to bust up laughing, just as J.J.'s doctor came in.

"Miss Jennifer Jareau?" He asked, and we nodded. "She is awake. I can only let you in one at a time, but she's awake, nonetheless."

I looked over at Morgan. "I think Morgan should go first, then Emily. They're probably the closest to her, other than . . ." I trailed off, not wanting to continue. They seemed to have gotten the idea, because Morgan immediately got up and left without a word.

 **Spencer's P.O.V.**

What the heck do I do now?! I watched the group go back into a room with the doctor, and when I tried to follow, I found out that I actually _can't_ walk through a door. I hit my nose, but in the place I'm in, I don't feel pain. That's kind of a good thing.

One of the other weird things is, if I concentrate, I can hear the entire team's conversation, like I was sitting right next to them. There is a window in the door, and I can see Hotch flip off Morgan. I laugh. That's just like both of them.

Next, I feel the same excruciating pain that I felt when Penelope stood, going right through me. I watched as a doctor went inside, talked a bit, leaving with Morgan at his side.

I don't care; I'm going with. I heard that J.J. was awake, and I wanted to see her.

We all walked down a hallway, and surprisingly, J.J.'s room was a couple doors down from mine. I stood in the hallway, listening to the doctor explain that Derek couldn't touch anything.

'Well, he **_could_** ,' I thought. 'Unlike me. I can try all day and look where it'll get me!'

I followed them inside the room. J.J. was sitting on the side of the bed, her legs swinging over the side. Her face was completely emotionless; though you could tell she had been crying.

"J.J.?" Morgan asked, sitting beside her. I sat in one of the chairs beside the bed, and surprisingly, I didn't fall through.

I watched as J.J. continued to stare at the floor, but spoke.

"Where's Spencer?"

Morgan bit his lip, but it was a bit shaky. He took a deep breath, but hesitated on his answer.

"He . . ."

"How _is_ he?!" J.J. pressed.

Morgan sighed. "He fell into a coma, J.J. They don't think he'll wake up."

J.J. nodded, but the look in her eyes made me turn away. I caused this. If I had never walked away alone, they wouldn't have had to chase after me. Tara wouldn't have done those things to me, resulting in this...

I look around the room; anywhere other than J.J. There's a whiteboard with a couple markers, a bunch of posters over the walls explaining things like ear infections and how the eyes work, a small sink with cabinets above and below it, and then there's just enough room for the bed.

"So . . ." Morgan started. "Why'd you have a seizure back there?" He pointed his thumb out of the room.

J.J. glanced out the window in the door, making sure no one was there is my guess.

"I have a brain tumor."

My heart stopped. She _what?!_ I had known J.J. to be a joking, laughing person, but right now, she wasn't laughing. That meant she wasn't joking. My heart sunk even lower when I saw the tears starting to fall down her cheeks. I wanted to hold her so badly, to tell her it was okay, but I knew I couldn't. After all, I was supposed to be back in my room, lying on a bed, connected to the only things that were keeping me alive.

I could tell Morgan was trying to process this information, because he normally only had that look when he was thinking. I stood from the chair, walking over to the whiteboard. I couldn't leave until someone opened the door too, so I decided to do something to take my mind off of J.J. until then.

I grabbed a red marker (my hand didn't go through!), and started to draw. I didn't know what I was drawing, but when I was finished, I took a quick glance at it.

It was a heart, but it had a crack down the middle. J.J. was written on one cracked side, while S.R. was written on the other. I quickly felt a blush come to my cheeks, but before I could wipe it away, it vanished. Like, into thin air!

I turned to look at Morgan and J.J. again, but this time, they weren't crying. They were just staring.

Right at me.

 **J.J.'s P.O.V.**

Okay J.J., stay calm. What just happened?

"Did you see that?" Morgan whispered, neither us taking our eyes off the whiteboard.

I nodded. I took a deep breath, then used all the courage in me to ask; "Spencer?"

I saw a word pop up on the whiteboard.

 _Yes._

I gawked. "Can you hear us?"

 _Yes._

Morgan was smiling, but tears were still falling. "How is this possible?"

I got ready for a lot of words to come up on the whiteboard.

 _Well, I really have no idea, but I think I'm in some sort of halfway thingy that I can hear and see you but you can't hear or see me. I hoped that I'd be able to find a connection. :)_

I laughed at his little smiley-face he wrote at the end, and I noticed that Morgan was too.

"They will only let one person back at a time, so who do you both want back?" Morgan asked, standing. I could tell he wanted to stay, but the others deserved to see this too.

"Actually..." I started, pressing the nurse button on the side of my bed.

"What's the matter?" A nurse asked frantically, running into the room. When she saw everything was alright, she immediately calmed down.

"Since I'm obviously feeling better, do you mind if all of my friends could come back at once? I'd rather not have to repeat something five times." I asked, nicely, since I really hoped she'd say yes.

"I will go get them." The nurse said, rushing down the hall to the room they were in. I was surprised she knew who they were, but considering everyone knew that a group of FBI agents were here, I let myself move on.

When I turned around, I saw the words _'Suck Up'_ written on the board.

"You're lucky that I can't touch you or see you, Spence." I said, biting my lip. "Or else you'd be lying on the ground with a broken nose."

 _I'm scared. Morgan; help._

We both laughed so hard, I almost fell out of my bed, but the gang had just arrived in time to make sure I didn't.

"What's so funny?" Rossi asked, sitting in one of the chairs lined on the wall where there wasn't a sink or a bed. Emily and Penelope sat on the bed with me, while the boys all took the chairs.

"Just . . ." I found it kind of hard to explain, but I guess I didn't need to. I looked up at the whiteboard, and he seemed to have gotten my message.

 _Hey, guys._

Gasps were emitted from the entire team, minus me and Morgan. We laughed at their faces, then turned back to the board.

"Who is this?" Hotch demanded, though it was hard to take him seriously with the confused look on his face.

 _I'm in a hospital bed for not even a day and you guys forget about me? That's nice . . . now I'm hurt._

They all stared, their mouths open wide, while me and Morgan continued to laugh.

"Okay, Spence." I barely got out. The others just looked at me like I was crazy.

"How is this possible?" Rossi asked, earning a _*sigh*_ from Spencer on the board.

"He's stuck in a place where we can't see or hear him, but he can see and hear us." Morgan explained, since he was the one who asked in the first place.

"Will you be stuck like this forever?" Penelope asked the board.

 _I don't know, P. I really don't know._

 **Spencer's P.O.V. (I just really like his P.O.V., sry)**

 _I don't know, P. I really don't know._ I wrote on the board, hoping that it would eventually be a no.

Hotch was still looking confused, but the rest of the team seemed to be intrigued by how I managed to stay in a place where I can hear or see them, but they can't do the same. Emily and Rossi were looking impressed, while Morgan, J.J., and Penelope just laughed at them. I mean, you don't always get to see Hotch confused, let alone Rossi or Emily impressed.

As they all settled back down, the doctor that was seeing me came into the room, along with J.J.'s doctor.

"All of you may see Spencer, but you need to be out of here so we can run some more tests on Miss Jareau." My doctor explained.

"Wait a second." Rossi said, holding his hand up. He turned to J.J. "What exactly _is_ wrong with you?"

J.J.'s smile faltered, before falling off her face completely. She looked at the ground, tracing the tiles with her eyes. I got the urge to go over and hug her, but I quickly shook my head. She didn't like me like that, and besides, I can't. I'm so close to death, I really _should_ be dead by now. Not standing around, trying to communicate with their dimension. I should be trying to get back to consciousness.

"I have a . . ." J.J. took a visible and audible deep breath. "A brain tumor."

Everyone stared; no gasps or mouths hanging open. They just stared. Like they couldn't believe it. It just wasn't settling into their brains. I sighed, and when the doctors left for a moment, I wrote on the board;

 _Sorry, J.J. I really am._

J.J. smiled weakly in my direction, and I smiled. She'd get through this. She wouldn't let a silly thing like a brain tumor force her out of doing the things she loves. Like coming to the BAU and catching UNSUBs on a daily basis. Getting them off the streets. We all loved our job, and that's why we've all stayed with it so long. Our group is basically the closest family any of us have ever had.

I shook my head, letting those thoughts roll out through my ears. I didn't really want to think about family, especially since I'd be remembering my mother, and how'd she react to this situation I've gotten my self into this time- _STOP IT, SPENCER._

I looked around, seeing the gang heading towards my room, while J.J. was laying back on the bed, waiting for the doctors to come back. I saw silent tears streaming down her face, and slowly crept out of the room, even if they couldn't see or hear my anyways.

I ran to beat them there, and before they walked in, I wrote;

 _I beat you! NA-NANA-NANA-NA_

I saw Morgan chuckle, and Hotch even _SMILED_. Rossi, Penelope, and Emily laughed freely, and I laughed with them. They all kept the smiles on their faces while they took some seats around the room. After they were all sitting, a knock came from the door. I turned around, dropping the marker. I didn't care if they heard me or not; I gasped, recognizing them immediately.

"Mom?"


	9. Finally

**Emily's P.O.V.**

"Spencer?" I watched as a woman walked in, staring blankly at his motionless body lying on the bed. I immediately recognized her as his mother, and I felt sorry for her. She did have schizophrenia, so it would be even harder for her to comprehend that her son was most likely not going to wake up.

I could stand my train of thought, so I slowly, silently, shook them out of my brain. I needed to help him. And sitting around sulking wasn't going to get him that.

I looked over at Aaron. He had that same glowering look donned upon his face; like always. Which made it really hard for me to tell how he was getting along with this. He definitely looked better than the first time we had been told Spencer was in a coma, but he wasn't exactly happy, either. In fact, I could probably be able to name about three times that I've actually seen Hotch smile. 'It's so rare, it can cure cancer,' I used to joke with J.J.

My thoughts were racing through my mind; days spent over at Rossi's with the team, long days at work, only to have a long flight home. J.J.'s wedding. Staying up late at the office just so I could spend a little longer with them. I almost smiled, but before I did, I knew the bad memories were going to catch up.

And they did.

Reid's first kidnapping, with this one to top it. J.J.'s torturer. All of the times we had been hurt, held captive, or stretched to our limits. I, most of all, remembered Doyle. I could still remember the look on his face as the wooden stake made its way through me. I recalled every moment of tape Hankle had sent us, just so we could witness the death and revival of one of our own.

Spencer's mother wasn't exactly looking the greatest, either. She had bags under her eyes, and a crazy look in her eye. She was fidgeting, and I was sure she was waiting to find out what had happened to her son, and who had caused it. I was about to tell her, when an image of Spencer ran through my mind again. This time, I couldn't stand seeing the gunshot wounds that he had received over the years, all with working this job. We all had been hurt a couple times, but I had to say, Reid probably had it the worst. What with having the eidetic memory and all.

I stood, feeling the tears begin to well, threatening to fall any second. I glanced at Hotch, then nodded slightly towards the hallway. He nodded slightly back, and I walked out. I started towards the doors that separated the rest of the world-the _good_ parts of the world-from our team. I had almost reached them when I heard Hotch step out into the hallway. I glanced back at him, then opened the doors.

 **Hotch's P.O.V.**

Where was she going?! I thought she meant just outside the door to Spencer's room, not all the way outside of the hospital! But I followed anyways, even if Aaron Hotchner doesn't chase girls.

As soon as I stepped out of the doorway, I located Emily sitting on a bench a few yards from me. I put on one of my 'poker face's (as Rossi said once, even if I never got the joke), and made my way over to her. She had her head in her hands, so I couldn't see her face. I sat down beside her, though, which obviously made her loosen up a bit.

"How're you coping?" Emily asked, making me jump slightly. She smirked lightly at me, making me blush for acting like that. Especially in front of her. "I mean, you don't look like you've been through this past week. What're you doing?"

I sat for a moment. What exactly was I supposed to tell her? If I told her what my answer would be, it would change our friendship forever. And I certainly didn't want it to be for worse. So, I decided to be half-truthful.

"Well . . ." I started. How was I supposed to put this? "There's this girl . . . she's beautiful, smart, and definitely courageous. She's got the prettiest eyes and a smile that could kill. I can't keep my mind off of her. She's even blocked out all my thoughts and worries about both of our teammates."

"Both of your teammates?" Emily asked. Crap. I let that slip.

"I-Well, you see . . ." I tried, but she gasped before I could continue.

"Dude . . . she's taken." She said. My heart dropped for a moment, before I realized that she couldn't possibly know who I was talking about . . . right?

"By whom?" I asked, confidence slowly coming back into my voice.

"Derek or Kevin. They're both kinda on and off." She said, smirking.

I gaped at her. "No. No way. I do not have a thing for Penelope Garcia." I said, allowing myself to use her full name instead of just her last.

She groaned. "Then who is it?!"

"I don't know." I played, earning an exasperated glare from her.

I was about to suggest heading back inside, when a devilish smirk came onto her face. Even worse than the last one.

"What?"

She thought for a moment. "Well, you say you don't have a thing for Penelope, you said 'our teammates', suggesting that it's not J.J., since she was included in that group, and it's obviously not me, since you'd have the balls to say it to my face. Or at least, I think you would. Am I right?"

Dammit. Now I'm stuck. It's almost like she was waiting for this to happen. It sounded almost scripted.

"What?" I faked surprised. "I fail to understand what you are getting at, Prentiss." I used her last name, so hopefully that will get her off my back for a while. Or at least, the next few minutes.

"You know exactly what I'm getting at." She said, staring at me, almost expectantly. Did someone tell her? Or what if I haven't been that subtle about it?

"I do not. I am very subtle about things like that." I explained, not sure what I even meant by that.

"Oh, so you do like someone!" She said, straightening. "I am totally asking Rossi."

With that, she took off into the building at the fastest pace I've seen a woman in heels go. I had no choice but to follow her inside if I didn't want Rossi telling her.

As I stepped into the hospital, I could see Emily already beckoning Rossi into the hallway. I was stopped by a nurse, asking who I was, before I was allowed back. I held up my badge, earning immediate access. I glared at Rossi and Emily, who already were having a conversation. I couldn't hear them, but I could tell Rossi was about to spill my biggest secret.

I watched as Rossi leaned in to Emily's ear, whispering something I could only hope wasn't what I thought it was. But since Emily looked genuinely surprised, then turned to look at me in confusion, I could tell Rossi had told.

I didn't have time to tell Rossi what I was thinking at that moment; which would probably be a good thing, since it would get me kicked out with all the children around. Instead, Emily grabbed my hand, and before I knew what she was doing, she leaned up and planted a small kiss on my cheek.

"I like you, too," she whispered in my ear, before letting go of me and walking back into the room.

 **Spencer's P.O.V.**

I was surprised to see Emily kiss Aaron. I know they had been liking each other for a while, but I mean come on! It was about dang time. It was starting to get boring around here without some love triangles going on. Not that I'm a fan of them . . . they cause too much of a distraction . . .

I smirked as an idea came into my head, and as soon as my mother had left, and the entire team had gathered back, I wrote in the biggest letters I could manage on the board;

 _HOTCH X EMILY FOREVER XD_

This caused everyone to look at the two in shock (minus Rossi), and I cracked up laughing. I didn't care if they couldn't see me; it was just too funny not too. Especially with how red their faces were getting. Eventually, the others came to their senses, starting to laugh as well. They were loud, and I could see some of the nurses looking in with curiosity or glaring in our general direction for disrupting them.

I yawned, and noticed the rest of the team was obviously tired as well. Bags under their eyes, sharp movements just to stay awake; just like my mother had looked when she first walked in. I saw her doctor come in and escort her away, saying that she could visit some time tomorrow after lunch. She needed to get used to the new area, anyways, since we didn't have time to fly back home yet.

 _You guys go get some sleep. I'll be fine here overnight; I'll probably start tricking the doctors or something for entertainment. You look like you need it._ I wrote, earning nods from some of the group, even if they were skeptic. I watched as they slowly stood, but as they were about to step out, I saw Hotch slip his arm around Emily's waist. I chuckled, thinking about how I could maybe do that to J.J. after all this was over . . .

I came back to reality, where there was no Reid and Jareau, and saw that the team had left. I took to erasing the board, even if there was nothing left on it. After that, I saw a doctor walking past, so I stuck out my foot, tripping him. He caught himself at the last moment, but as he looked around frantically for whoever did that, the look on his face was priceless.

I now realized, that even if everyone else in real life was looking tired from a long day of work, worrying over the state of a loved one, or whatever they have had happen to them in a span of one day, that I wasn't tired. It was almost like, in this parallel universe or wherever I was, I didn't need to sleep, eat, or even breathe-no, wait. Still had to breathe.

I plopped myself in one of the biggest chairs in the waiting room, waiting for the sun to come up.

 **Hotch's P.O.V.**

When we arrived at the hotel in our cab (we were all too tired to drive, and the last thing we needed was a car accident), I helped Emily out of the car, but before I could help, Garcia got out of the other side. I sighed, but neither of them seemed to notice. I saw Morgan and Rossi pull up behind us, and they soon joined us on our way inside.

"What may we do to help you?" The clerk said from behind the desk.

I slowly pulled out my badge, though I was still faster than the others. "We'll need . . . how many rooms?" I asked, turning to count them.

"Uh, five rooms, please." Emily said. Then she looked at me. "If you don't mind."

I could tell if she was talking to me or the clerk, but either way, I didn't object. I saw the man hand us the keys, and, noticing how tired we all were, let us go on our way. I figured he would talk to us on the expenses in the morning. I've never really took much thought into how people always took extra precautions to help us, like delaying conversations if we were doing something at the moment or too tired or busy. I always noticed, yet here I was, another person trying to help.

"Thank you," I barely got out before I was lead out of the room and into an elevator with the rest of the team. As soon as we were about to step off, I realized something.

"What's our room number?" I whispered to Emily, hoping that she had been paying attention.

"394, Hotch." Morgan looked at me with a smile, and was obviously holding back some laughter.

"What's so funny?" I asked, noticing that Garcia was freely laughing, and Rossi and Emily were holding back some, too. "What's the significance of the number 394?"

Garcia answered. "You don't _know_?"

I shook my head, making them all laugh harder.

"Okay, Snape." Rossi said, cracking everyone up again.

I rolled my eyes. Of course. Some stupid reference. Again.

As we broke off into our room after the elevator stopped, I immediately woke up. Emily was holding my hand, guiding me towards our room. I said goodnight for both of us, then kicked the door closed.

What happened next surprised me; Emily locked our lips together so tight, I barely had time to process what she was doing. I personally agreed, working with her to prepare for something great. As I glanced over at the clock-2:48-I made a mental note that that would be the time both of our lives changed. For better or worse, I didn't know yet, but I had her with me.

That was enough for me.


	10. Any Ideas?

**Garcia's P.O.V.**

The next morning I woke slowly, stretching my arms out across the whole width of the bed. I sighed, staring at the ceiling. I had fallen asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, so I was still wearing the same clothes and makeup as the days previous. I shook my head, remembering what all had happened in those same days.

As I stood, I grabbed my go-bag, which Rossi, Morgan, and I had all remembered to bring upstairs with us. I didn't think Hotch and Emily had brought theirs, but I imagine one of the others brought the two's for them, considering their personalities, and how tired the two had looked as well . . .

I sighed again. When exactly had I became a profiler? It's not my concern; they'll take care of it themselves. They're adults, grown people. They can take care of themselves.

I took a long, hot shower, hopefully to relax my muscles of the strain of sitting in a stupid hospital chair for I-don't-know-how-long yesterday. Geez, for being such a wealthy hospital, they sure didn't spend much money on their waiting rooms. It would've been more comfortable to be sitting on a plastic kids' chair.

After checking the time, which surprised me (I was up at 5:30?! Since when?!), I figured I had until 7:00 at least. So, I took my good ol' sweet time putting on my makeup and doing my hair, and when I went down to get breakfast from the hotel's nice little breakfast-area, I noticed I actually wasn't the only one up.

My plate of scrambled eggs, pancakes, and bacon was set in front of me as I joined Morgan sitting in the corner. He smiled up at me as I sat down, and _dang_ that man's smile is contagious.

"Hello, chocolate thunder," I said, smirking as I started to eat. I tried their bacon, which wasn't too bad (what with it being hotel bacon and all), and I noticed Morgan must've been down here a while, since the only thing in front of his was a styrofoam cup of coffee.

"Hey, Baby Girl," was all he replied with. I was confused, but when he looked out of the window beside our table, I could see the bags under his eyes. And everything all of us had last night, was now magnified onto him.

"Trouble sleeping?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hmm?" He mumbled, as if he was in a trance. I cleared my throat, making him look at me with tired eyes.

"I asked if you had trouble sleeping?" I asked again, earning a blank stare from him in response. Eventually he took a deep breath, leaning onto the table as if it was his only life line.

"Trouble means you _do_ sleep." He clarified, answering my question worse than I expected.

I sighed, leaning forward too, careful not to lean into my food. That would just be a waste.

"He'll be fine. And so will J.J." I said. "Spencer's able to talk to us, at least, so that's _something_. J.J. will go through some surgeries for this, and she'll be okay. A little tired, maybe, but okay. You need to have faith in them. They haven't given up yet, and I've seen them go through worse, so this won't break them. Especially Spencer."

I flinched at my own words, remembering those two days, watching my Junior G-man being harmed from behind my computer screens. Morgan obviously remembered, too, since he bit the inside of his cheek. I dropped my gaze to my food, which had been untouched since the first strip of bacon so far.

I had lost my appetite, so I simply slid it towards Morgan. "Want any?"

He looked at it, then, taking a small strip of bacon, smiled a small 'Thank you'. I took the rest and dumped it in the trash, ignoring weird looks from the few people in the café, and sat with Morgan for about another half-hour in silence until someone else decided to come down and join us.

"Hello." Rossi wasn't a morning person, but he had obviously taken a chill pill on his way down, just so he didn't blow the entire place to smithereens. And you don't want to get on an angry Rossi's nerves.

A brief nod from Morgan was his hello, and I tried a pitiful wave. He didn't really have anything to anger him more, so he calmed down rather quickly with a plate of food in front of him. He seemed to be the only one who could eat in a situation like this one.

"So, the two haven't came down yet?" Rossi asked with a smirk. "Wonder what they were up to that kept them up that late?" He laughed, and Morgan almost cracked a smile.

"Imagine what Reid would be like," he said, starting at a whisper but slowly gaining his voice back. "He'd probably be completely oblivious to our jokes, and he probably wouldn't be suspecting a thing about Hotch and Prentiss."

We all laughed again. "He'd probably comment on the likelihood of them staying up to watch movies, play a board game, talk, even the likelihood of them dying in their sleep!"

I laughed at Rossi's very correct assumption of Reid's behavior, and I watched as Rossi finished his breakfast. He sighed, resting his head on his fist, his elbow near the edge of the table. I scooted my chair away from the table, but before I could stand to go back to my room, I noticed Hotch and Emily (with Hotch's arm around Emily's waist) walking into the little confinement. I quickly scooted back in, while Rossi pulled two extra chairs over to the sides of our table. They smiled their thanks, but headed to the bar first.

They took their time, but eventually joined us.

"So, up for another day spent in Alabama?" Emily asked, all humor drained from her face since the night before. "I'm not sure about any of you-" she took a bite of a pancake on her plate, "-but I'm not going anywhere until they are cleared to come with."

I nodded. "Me either."

Nods from around the table were the only things we managed to do ever since the time Emily said that, to when we all stood to go grab our stuff to take to the hospital. I ran up to my room faster than anyone else, even though travelling by elevator kinda slowed me down a bit. I grabbed my go-bag, stuffing that full of stuffed animals, Doctor Who figurines, and still had a box left to carry.

When I reached the lobby, I saw Rossi and Hotch in the corner, Emily talking to the front desk lady; probably about how to pay for our stay and maybe needing those rooms again for another night. I wasn't entirely sure whether Reid would come back to us today, but I was pretty sure it would be a couple months until J.J. would be able to come home with us. Or, at least a couple weeks before she could fly home to get treatment there.

Which reminded me. What about Will? Has anyone called him yet?

I was making my way towards Emily, who had just walked away from the woman behind the desk. I noticed Hotch was on the phone, assuming either Strauss or the hospital. I saw him glance around at us, obviously counting us, only to be disappointed when Morgan wasn't here yet. I sighed again, looking at Emily, who grabbed her phone as it buzzed.

"I'm sorry, P. I have to take this." She explained, earning a smile from me, before she walked out the front doors. I noticed Hotch's eyes follow her out, and when he hung up the phone, I saw Rossi grin at him. He said something, causing Hotch to blush slightly, a smile appearing on his face for another rare time.

At that moment, Morgan walked in. He was still looking bad, but he had a smile plastered on his face regardless. It looked real, but I got the strange feeling it wasn't. It was probably just my nerves, or just the way I saw him earlier, causing me to compare him to that version of him. I shook my head, blaming it on stress, and waved him over.

 **Hotch's P.O.V.**

I blushed under Rossi's grin, knowing exactly what he was thinking. I had to resist the urge to hit him; we were in public, for God's sake! But, instead, I just felt myself grinning back, even though I was practically screaming at myself not to.

I mean, who wouldn't stare at their hopefully-soon-to-be-girlfriend as they walk away? I would never say that out loud, but no one's ever told me what to think about crushes. Or what to do with them, either, now that I think about it.

After I was done having the mental conversation with myself, I noticed that Morgan had just joined us downstairs, and was ready to go like the rest of us. I cleared my throat, gaining their attention, like always.

"Since our cars are still at the hospital, we will take two cabs there today, but will be bringing our cars back tonight after we are done there." I said, trying to keep my eyes steady and my face indifferent as Emily stepped back inside. She obviously picked up my hint, since she went to go stand by Penelope instead. "You may choose who you want to ride with, not that it'll matter in the long run. The only thing is, though, is that Strauss wants us back as soon as possible, so we are only staying for four more days, and that is only in hopes that they both with be better by that time."

As I finished, many of the group nodded in agreement, although it was reluctant. Not that I wanted to leave my agents here alone in a foreign town just so I could please someone of higher importance than I. Not at all.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't even notice Emily coming over, asking me something twice. I apparently had been staring out the clear windows that were at the entrance. I had only came back to reality when Emily waved her hand in front of my face, almost yelling my name. I kinda liked it.

I shook my head. Those were almost like my thoughts last night. That wasn't right. I had to get my head back into the game by the time we got back to work. I couldn't risk getting fired just because I fell in love with one of my colleagues.

"I'm sorry. What were you saying?" I said, a small, innocent smirk playing at my lips.

"I said, everyone else is riding so we can have a car to ourselves." She laughed, glancing over at the three, who were already outside, trying to hail a taxi, even if their attempts were for naught. "Isn't that weird?"

"Weird?" I asked, now confused. What was weird?

"Yeah. It's weird that they all of a sudden want to hang out together, leaving us two alone. It's almost like they _want_ us to be together." She said, the smile on her face faltering but quickly coming back.

I got an idea. I stood, wrapping my arms around her waist, resting my forehead on her shoulder (which was kinda hard, since she was a little shorter than me).

"Then I guess they'll be pretty happy, won't they? I mean, their wish has come true." I said, my voice slightly muffled my her hair that was draped around her shoulders.

She laughed, although she kept it quiet. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and as I lifted my head off her shoulder, she pressed her lips to mine. I noticed Morgan telling the others to look at us, but I genuinely couldn't care less.

Emily was the first one to break away for a breath, and after, she settled with her hand around my waist, me doing the same to her. I planted a kiss on her forehead, before opening the door for her to step through.

I watched as Rossi had just managed to hail a cab, and I smirked at his ecstatic face, then got one to pull over behind them in no time. I guess it was the official stare that made them feel obliged to pull over. I didn't really care, though, while I opened the door for Emily before helping her in. She smiled at me, scooting all the way over to the other side before I got in. Not exactly my plan, but I knew she wasn't exactly used to this, either.

But, that was if Rossi's information was right. When I asked him to look into her past boyfriends, I wasn't exactly expecting there not to be any. In fact, that left me with nothing to go off of. I had no idea how to act so she'd like me, and no way to know what she looked for in a guy! I was S.O.L. But, still, when I asked him three more times if he was lying or not, I was still left empty.

As we sped off down the road towards the hospital, I tried not to glance at Emily. Trying to keep her out of my head was impossible; I didn't even attempt that. I was barely managing to keep myself from staring at her. I thought it would freak her out a little bit, having her boss staring at her while they were simply in a cab heading to see their friend that was in a coma.

We eventually got to the hospital, and upon arriving, I stole a look at her, but I knew that it would be fine since I offered her my hand to get out. She took it with a weak smile, and instead of being offended like I know most guys do, I understand. Both her and my best friend was lying on a bed in one of their rooms, likely not to wake up again.

Shaking the tendrils of depression from creeping into my brain, I lead her into the hospital, catching up with the others as they walked towards Reid's room. I looked around, hoping that if I caught Reid's attention that he'd meet us back in his room.

We were going to get him back today.

One way, or another.


	11. Good News All Around

_Hey guys._

The team smiled, knowing that the handwriting belonged to their closest friend, Doctor Spencer Reid. They took seats around the room, ready to brainstorm anything that might bring their friend back to them soon.

 _What's up? You all look deep in thought._

Spencer wasn't sure what was on his friends' minds, but he would fine out soon enough, he guessed.

"We're just trying to come up with a way for you to get back to us, Pretty Boy," explained Morgan.

Reid nodded to himself. _So . . . any ideas?_

The team shook their heads, and Reid sighed. He knew he would eventually pass on to the next world, or whatever came after this one, but he wanted to do so many things before he died, and if he didn't get back soon, he may not be able to do any of them.

"I have an idea," Emily spoke up from the back of the room, closest to Hotch, who had his hand secretly wrapped around hers. Well, until then, anyway.

The entire room turned to her, willing to hear anything that might be able to help their friend.

"Go ahead, Em," whispered Hotch, earning him a thankful smile in return.

"What if we had Reid lay on the bed, where his body is, and if we get him in the exact spot, maybe he'll reconnect to himself?"

Everyone sat still; the room quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Everybody was lost in thought, wondering the exact same thing:

Would it work?

And if it didn't, what did they have to lose?

 **J.J.'s P.O.V.**

I woke again with a splitting headache, groaning. I tried to sit up, but a nurse quickly came over and rudely pushed me back down. I began to protest, unrelentingly trying to sit up straight.

One of the nurses managed to get me to stop moving long enough for her to speak with me.

"Jennifer-Jennifer! My name's Mandy, and I'm one of your nurses here, and I regret having to be the one to tell you that you have just woken up from the anesthesia we used on you for your surgery. You might be experiencing pain or discomfort in the next couple of hours." The nurse quickly explained while managing to get me to calm down completely.

"And what exactly did I need to go into surgery for? You guys already said that you couldn't get it out."

"Well, the doctor wanted another look at it, and that was what the surgery was for. I'm sorry he didn't ask for your consent, but he thinks that now he may be able to get it out."

I sat, stunned. I would be able to live without cancer?

"Thank you," I mumbled, to caught up in my thoughts to say anything else.

I thought about how I would see my family again. How I would be able to spend afternoons with Henry, and be able to go on date nights with Will. How the team and I would spend hours on end for a case, only to have zero leads.

I missed it already.

 **Spencer's P.O.V.**

I thought about Emily's idea, and eventually wrote my opinion on the board.

 _What harm could it do?_

The team cheered, though quietly, since it was relatively early and other patients could still be sleeping. I watched as they looked in my general direction, waiting for another message. Although, this time, there were smiles upon their faces instead of their usual sad, hopeless looks.

 _I'll give it a try. Now?_

Multiple nods came from each of the members of the team, and I sighed. I was worried about what the risks could be, but now, since I wasn't sure if this had even ever happened to anyone else in the world before, there weren't any statistics to make me any less uneasy as I climbed onto my bed. I laid down where my body was, feeling a strange connection; like I was supposed to be there. Like I belonged.

I rested my head on the pillow, staring at the ceiling, until I felt my eyes being forced closed. A heavy weight lay over me, and I felt myself being unable to move. _It must be working_ , I thought. As I lay still, a haze of voices surrounded me, and I couldn't make out who it was. It could've been anyone on the team, but then again, I heard the sound of a couple women and a man, probably the doctor and nurses.

I tried my hardest to move, to let them know that I was waking up. I wanted to see J.J. so badly. I wanted to be the one to tell my team that I was okay. I wanted to be free again.

My eyelids felt like a ton of bricks, making it pretty hard to open them at all. I moved my eyes frantically, hoping they'd see and give me some medicine to help me with this. I suddenly felt the weight lifted off my shoulders (literally), and I was able to open my eyes.

"Spencer?" The male voice I identified as the doctor asked me. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," I croaked, willing myself to stay awake. I couldn't go back to that place I was before. "Can I see my friends?" I asked as the movement of the nurses slowed down a little bit and I felt myself returning to a decent state. I looking over at the screens around me, realizing that my vitals were almost perfectly fine now.

"You just came out of a coma, Spencer. You'll see them soon enough, right after we check for any brain damage, okay?" The doctor explained, and I nodded, trying to save me voice for when I see my friends again.

As the doctor pulled up the railings on either side of the bed, laying the back of my bed down, he said, "We're gonna take you in for a CAT Scan now, Spencer. You just hang on a minute, and then you'll be with your friends."

I felt the cart begin to move, and I felt the urge to close my eyes begin to come back.

"Can I get something to help me keep my eyes open?" I asked, earning a nod from the doctor. He said something to nurse quickly, urging her to get it now. She returned seconds later, and while she hung it on the rack attached to the bed, I felt my eyes begin to close. But when I felt the jab in my arm and the cold liquid run through my veins, I immediately woke back up.

I looked around again, only, this time, we were already through the hallways and into the CAT scan room. I lay down on the bed, closing my eyes while they put the mask over my head and snap it in place. I could hear the doctor conversing with someone as a nurse explained to me everything about it. What it would do, what it'd tell them, and what I needed to do to keep myself safe. Even if I was an FBI agent, I guess it didn't matter.

As the bed slowly started to roll back into the machine, I felt myself start to relax. I knew that the medicine they gave me would keep me awake for a while, so I just let myself go into a stupor. I could still hear the machine running, I could feel the cold medicine still running through my veins all over my body, I could still smell the sterilization wipes they used on the inside of the mask before putting it on me. I focused on the thought of seeing me friends as soon as I got out of here, and how I would be able to see J.J., since she was alright. I may not've seen her since last night, where I snuck into her room to see if she was okay, but I still wanted to see her again.

It seemed like forever until the bed pulled back out of the scanning machine, and I opened my eyes to a group of doctors that looked very gleeful.

"Looks like you are ready to go, Doctor," one of the nurses said, helping me into a wheelchair. I moved around a little, trying to get myself comfy, since I guessed I was going to be in it for a little while. The doctors quickly dispersed, while there stayed two nurses; one to hold the door and one behind me, pushing.

"Do you mind if we make a stop by my friend J.J.'s room first? I mean, before we head to the waiting room?" I asked quickly, so she could change her path without getting too far.

"Yes, we can, Doc." The nurse said, almost in a joking tone. "I'll get you there in no time flat. Just hang on," she joked, taking off down the hallway.

I laughed as she made a screeching sound with her mouth, imitating a stopping car. She smirked at me as she knocked on the door. I waited for someone to answer, and smiled when they did.

"Hey! It's Pretty Boy!" Morgan exclaimed. "Why didn't you warn us so Penelope could've brought more stuffed animals?"

Morgan opened the door so the nurse could push me inside, leaving me with them. I glanced around, noting that there were stuffed animals everywhere. And I mean _everywhere._ There were elephants, monkeys, bears (mostly), and small dogs and cats and pigs covering every counter space there, and you could barely see J.J. sitting on the bed she was surrounded by so many. I laughed as Garcia placed six more tiny bears on my lap.

"Spence!" J.J. said as I wheeled into view. The piles of stuffed animals must've constricted her vision of the whole room, and she was also deeply in conversation with Emily and Hotch, who were sitting together again. Rossi was sitting beside Morgan, and said person wheeled me to the front so he could sit back beside Rossi.

"Hey, J.J." I said, pulling her into a light hug. She smiled, her eyes gleaming. I couldn't help but notice how pretty her eyes were. How there were specks spiraling around in the blue of her eyes, while they fall into the black abyss of her pupils. I wished I could get lost in them forever, time and space just stopping and everyone and everything just stood still except for us. I wish that Will wasn't with her, even if that was wrong of me. I just wished everything would've turned out different.

"Reid? Are you alright?" Hotch asked, speaking to me for the first time since I had entered the room. I nodded, breaking away from my thoughts, and came crashing back into reality.

Emily's P.O.V.

As Reid's eyes came back into focus, I felt Hotch's body relax again. We were all worried not even an hour ago that we would never see our teammate wake from his coma, and now he was alive and well, sitting in a wheelchair in front of us, having a conversation with J.J.

I knew about his crush. Ever since . . . well . . . as long as I could remember. It really shook him up when she got with Will, and especially when she got married. But, I don't think J.J. knows, since she and Will are still going as strong as ever. I just hoped that he wouldn't try something to ruin their relationship just so he could be the one to end up with her. Not that I thought Spencer would be the type of person to do that to one of his friends. Not at all. Especially with the kind of personality he has.

I saw the door open and a ( _very_ ) shocked doctor come strolling in. He shook off all the different colored animals fairly quickly, and walked over to Reid, J.J., Hotch, and me. Rossi and Morgan scooted closer to hear what he had to say.

"The results from your surgery have came back, Mrs. Jareau." The doctor said, smiling. "There is a seventy percent chance we can get it out without any damage being done to the surrounding parts of the brain. The other thirty percent is just us accidentally touching the other area and . . . well, we'd just have to find out the effects. You won't die, of course." The last part he added rather hastily, not helping the queasy feeling in my stomach.

"Is she able to fly home on our jet?" Reid asked, surprising me that I hadn't thought of that earlier. I watched as the doctor gave an uneasy look.

"She . . . I don't think it'd be wise, but if a paramedic was on board, she'd definitely be in good hands," he said, glancing around at all of us. I caught his eye and I smiled, trying to thank him for everything. He seemed to have gotten the message, because he just nodded, then continued on.

"Unless, of course, you would like to stay with her here, where she's already admitted to, and she could go through surgery here. Which would probably take place within a couple days if she consents, and then she could fly back if she's guaranteed a full recovery." The doctor finished.

"Well . . ." J.J. started, looking over to Hotch. "When does Strauss want us back?"

"As soon as you're able to fly." Hotch said, his serious face softening. I preferred this Hotch than the one that's always serious and you can never talk to him personally. This is the side he shows with Jack, and back with Haley, before . . . no. I would never bring her up. Not that I didn't like her, we were great friends. It was just . . . Hotch was devastated, hardly able to keep himself together at that point.

I didn't want to see him like that again.

J.J. looked deep in thought, and the doctor obviously noticed. "I'll come back later for your answer."

Hotch and I sat still, his arm over my shoulders, waiting for a conversation to start. I wasn't sure what to say, so I just focused on my breathing falling in sync with Hotch's.

"What do you guys think I should do?" J.J. asked unexpectedly, causing Reid to jump, who was, I'm guessing, deep in thought. "I mean, so we can all go home faster."

I thought for a moment, but decided to stay quiet. I cast glances around the room, taking in the fact that everybody else was doing the exact same thing. We were all watching Reid, who went back into his previous state of deep thought, and it was like a lightbulb turned on in his brain.

"Well, if you stay, your risk of dying will be next to nothing, now that they are able to remove it. Leaving on our plane with just a paramedic on board, your chances of surviving isn't quite as good. A lot worse, actually. It would get us home faster for us to fly back now, but it's still a one hour and fifty-six minute ride for you without any antibiotics or a doctor on board. My personal opinion on the subject is that you should stay here until you're fully well and done with the surgery, and then we can take the paramedic as an extra precaution. But the decision is all yours, J.J." Spencer rambled, making the rest of us laugh.

Spencer's hand was resting on the armrest of his wheelchair, and I saw him freeze when J.J. wrapped hers around his. I laughed, but kept it quiet, since it was only me and Derek who knew about his crush. I wasn't sure about Garcia, Hotch, and Rossi. I locked eyes with him and smiled, earning a blush from his back. Man, that kid could blush. His _entire_ face, from his forehead down to his neck, turned a bright shade of scarlet, causing everyone (including J.J.) to laugh again.

We had apparently been discussing for a while, because the doctor came back in.

"Have you made your decision, Mrs. Jareau?"

J.J. nodded.

"Let's do this."


	12. Waiting Takes FOREVER

**Rossi's P.O.V.**

As we sat in the waiting room, Reid talked with his mother in the back corner. I saw her throw her arms around his shoulders multiple times, and I also thought I saw a couple tears roll down Reid's cheeks. But, then again, it could've just been me.

Hotch and Emily were incapable of leaving each other's sides, and Morgan and Penelope, too. I sat by myself, but I didn't care. I preferred being by myself, because then no one knew exactly what was going on inside my head. Plus, it gives me time to think about J.J., and what all she has got to be going through right now.

She hasn't been taken into surgery right now; they're waiting a bit for that. I'm not sure why, but I think it's so she can relax a little bit and have a couple minutes to herself. But . . . what about Will? And Henry? Where are they? Do they even know she's like this?

I got out my phone, looking up his number. I saw Emily glancing at me from the corner of her eye.

"I already called him. He's almost here. That's why they're holding off on the surgery right now," she whispered, and I smirked. Of course Emily would've already called them. She's always ahead of the game.

"Alright, Prentiss." I said, joking. She chuckled a bit, and took that as a sign to settle back down into my seat in comfortable silence, unlike the silence that had covered the entire waiting room. You could hear the sounds of monitors beeping along with people's hearts; you could hear doctors and nurses bustling around, escorting families, checking on patients, transferring patients into different rooms, etc.

I felt myself start to tire, even though it was only-I glanced at the clock-dang. It was already almost six. I had a feeling we were going to be here for a little while longer, though, because two certain someones just stepped in the door.

Will and Henry.

 **J.J.'s P.O.V.**

I sat in the dark room with nothing to do other than play on my phone. I had a couple games for Henry, but those I knew he would be mad at me for playing. So, I downloaded Tetris, and got to about the fortieth level when my door creaked open.

"MOMMY!" I heard, immediately pinpointing Henry. I smiled, looking up again. Sure enough, there was Will, walking right behind him. I saw the worried look on his face, and smiled reassuringly. I was going to be fine, and if I believed it, Will and Henry should too.

"Hey, buddy!" I said, using my mom-voice, as Rossi called it once. "How'd you guys get here?"

"We few on a pwane!" Henry said, making a plane with his hands and pretending to make it fly. I laughed as Will sat down by my said, taking my hand in his. I sighed happily; knowing that they were here made me feel a lot better about my decision.

"Hey," He said, and I couldn't help but fall in love again and again with that accent of his. "What is it?"

I exhaled. Loudly, too. It might have been taken the wrong way, so I quickly spoke up. "Nothing. I'm just really happy to see you two."

Will chuckled. "I'm glad to see you too."

We sat in silence (except for Henry making noises like _vroom_ and _zoom_ and other ones I just had to laugh at), until the doctor came in.

"Mrs. Jareau?" He asked, and I nodded. "Well, the Operating Rooms are in use right now, and we can't get you back until about eight, is that alright?"

J.J. nodded. "That's excellent. Thank you. And, by the way, doctor, how long do you expect the surgery will last?"

The doctor thought for a moment. "Well, considering the relative size of the cist, I'd say about eight to nine hours at most. And you'd be out the entire time."

J.J. smiled at the doctor as he walked out.

Will looked impressed. "Eight to nine hours _straight_. Dang. You gotta give doctors some credit. I would _never_ be able to do that."

We both laughed at that. We chatted for a while, about letting my family know, and that they'd be down when I woke up, and about how things were going with Henry and school and everything we could think of. Then, while we were laughing about how Henry had managed to make a mix of Sprite, Pepsi, and Fanta taste decent, the team came in to say good luck and tell me goodbye. I swear, they acted like they never see me again. They were teary-eyed, for some odd reason, and Spence went through his pretty fast, wheeling himself out of the room almost right afterwards, not waiting for anyone else. I wondered why?

The doctor came in, and I glanced at the clock again. 7:49.

"We're gonna go ahead and put you under, alright?" He asked me and Will. He nodded, so I did too.

A couple nurses came in and laid my bed back all the way, supporting my head with a couple pillows. I watched as they placed a mask on me, and I could immediately feel myself getting tired. The last thing I saw was them wheeling me out of my room and past my family.


	13. Last Connections

**No One's P.O.V.**

The team had fallen asleep in the uncomfortable hospital chairs, refusing to leave until they were assured their friend would make it out alright. Their persistence matched the workers in the hospital, and when they finally said, "Get out, then come back later," Rossi actually got up, walked out, then, five minutes later, came back in with coffees from the shop next door that was about to close in about twenty minutes.

Then, the nurses left them alone the rest of the night.

The next morning, light streamed in through the giant windows of the hospital's waiting room, slowly waking each member of the team. They had even slept in a bit; they were used to waking up before the sun, so it was odd. Seeing a government official sleep in.

Reid woke up before everyone else, since he found it hard to fall asleep in the first place; what with sleeping in a wheelchair and all. So, it was pretty easy for him to wake up. He checked the clock. 8:00. He'd gotten about eleven hours of sleep! He found himself dozing off about an hour after J.J. had been taken into surgery. Will had to go to the hotel with Henry, even though he didn't want to. Only, Henry was about to fall asleep, and he wasn't sure him sleeping in a hospital would be good for him.

And, of course, he wanted Henry to be awake whenever J.J. came out of surgery.

Reid glanced over at the rest of the team. Emily was waking in Hotch's arms, Rossi groaning, complaining, "Five more minutes." Morgan and Garcia snapped awake at about the same time, surprising Reid. As they all woke up the rest of the way, the doctor that they recognized as the one working on J.J., came out and told the nurse something, her picking up the phone immediately.

The doctor turned to the team, giving each member a sympathetic look. Garcia immediately assumed the worst, trying to hold back her tears. Morgan comforted her.

"Look, Baby Girl, he didn't say anything about J.J. It could be about someone else. Don't jump to conclusions." Morgan said, having an uneasy voice.

Garcia just nodded.

The team sat in silence, doubting every word Morgan had spoken.

Not soon enough, Will and Henry came rushing through the doors. "Is she awake yet?" He asked the team immediately. They shook their heads, causing the smile to fall off Will's face. "Then . . . what . . ." he didn't finish, afraid of their answers.

Luckily, the doctor came out to the waiting room.

"Family and friends for Mrs. Jennifer Jareau?" He asked, glancing at each one of them, who each nodded in turn as well. "Please . . . follow me," he said, turning to the hallway that went to the left, opposite the patients' rooms.

The team let Will and Henry go first, since they had to wheel a not-so-happy Reid down the hall behind them. Having to be taken care of was not something Reid appreciated. He could do it himself. But, because this was about J.J., he let it go. For now.

As they went down the hallway, there were many doors, but the one they were headed to was at the very end. The largest room they had. After all, being a government agent did have its perks every once in a while.

They could hear wailing, even from behind the closed doors. Even a few doctors and nurses stepped out from them, sighing. Their job wasn't the easiest.

When they reached the end of the hallway, the doctor held open the door for everyone to walk through, even though it was just Reid who needed it. The doctor motioned for them all to sit (not that Reid had a choice), and then he joined them.

"I . . ." The doctor sighed mid-sentence. "I thought the placing of the tumor would mean that it wouldn't have attached itself to Mrs. Jareau's brain. But, when we performed the recent surgery, it turned out it was, and when I had went to remove it, it . . ."

"Pulled out part of her brain?" Will finished, but with a very leery question.

The doctor took a moment, then began to slowly nod.

"Please tell m-us she's okay?!" Reid almost yelled from his seat beside Morgan.

The doctor sighed again, looking at the ground. "Not exactly," was all he said before standing.

"Mrs. Jareau has been...mentally disabled we believe for the rest of her life." 

**A/N: I changed it from before...I hope this is better!**

~ **EPILOGUE~**

"Uncle Spence!" A boy yelled from across the hallway. Reid turned around.

"My, Henry! How old have you gotten? You look almost twelve!" Reid said, ignoring the fact that the name was still J.J.'s to call him. Even though she wasn't there anymore.

"That's because I am!" Henry laughed, hugging Reid around the stomach. Will followed after, along with another woman. This made Spencer mad; that he could just go and pick up another girl right after J.J. had . . . _oh, right. It's already been six years. Six years since she died._

"Why're you here today?" Reid asked, smiling at his Godson.

The smile fell off of Henry's face.

Will spoke up, since he was now standing behind Henry. "Spencer, we would appreciate it if you could take care of Henry. We need some time to ourselves."

"How much time?" Spencer asked. "Not that I'm turning it down. I'd love to take care of him for you. I just wanted to make sure that I could plan his stay."

Will sighed. "Well, see . . . that's the thing . . . do you mind him staying with you . . ."

"Forever?" Henry asked, smiling wide. He was on his tip-toes so he could seem taller. "I'm a bigger boy now, Uncle. I can take care of myself."

Reid was taken aback by the question. But, he nodded, eager to see how this would go.

"Great! Well, his bags are in the car. We just need to transfer them over to your place, if that's alright." The woman said, not introducing herself once.

"Yeah, do you think you could get started on that, while I talk to Hotch for a sec?" Reid asked Will. Earning a nod in return, he set off in search of his boss.

Hotch was talking with Rossi, since they were on a case currently. So, it was just paperwork.

"Hotch?" Reid asked.

"Yes?" Hotch answered.

"Can I finish my things tomorrow? Will kinda . . . wants me to become Henry's guardian. Like, forever." Reid tried to explain.

Hotch's eyes widened, knowing about Reid's connection with the family. "Yes, yes. Take as much time as it takes to get Henry situated."

Reid smiled. "Thanks, Hotch."

Just as Reid stepped into Henry's sight again, he was tackled with another hug.

Will smiled, nodding at Reid, who nodded right back. They walked out to the cars together, putting Henry's bags in Reid's car, rather than his father's. Henry helped carry a couple duffel bags from car to car, but let the grown ups get the suitcases.

"Where we're going we won't need those anymore. He can keep everything." The woman said.

Then Henry said his teary goodbyes, then hopped into the front seat.

"Let do this!" Henry yelled, making a fist pump with his hand.

Reid laughed at his enthusiasm, pulling out of the parking lot. He glanced over at Henry, who was looking at the headquarters strangely, and sighed inwardly.

 _This is for J.J._


End file.
